Code Geass: Timeless Imprisonment
by Blazing Firefox
Summary: Becoming the devil himself was a sacrifice Lelouch Vi Britannia decided to make, as he fought to right Britannia's wrongs.
1. Two Lives

And so here begins my own take on Code Geass. I'm going to try my best to stray from the series itself as much as possible, but naturally there are some cases where it can't be helped. But more importantly, I think I should note the differences between this story and Code Geass itself:

- Lelouch was never disinherited. Rather, he was simply sold off as a political hostage whilst keeping his princehood in tact. Strange I know, but light will be shed on this further down the road

- By some stroke of luck, Clovis found and has been in contact with Lelouch since he became Governor of Area 11 and the two share a relationship comparable to Lelouch and Nunnally's (I may or may not put detail into their reunion; I personally don't think it's important as the event itself is rather irrelevant on it's own, but it may be explained... again, further down the road)

- As a by product of the last point, Lelouch is going to be slightly OOC as he will be considerably more humane than he was in the series. This won't really affect many things early on, aside from some small things here and there, but this small detail will be a primary factor later on

And lastly, I'll point out now that I've already determined that the story will be LelouchxC.C., if anyone. The primary focus of the story will be, well, the story... but if I decide to throw anything into the mix it'll be between those two. No ifs, ands or buts. Well, maybe there can be a few... but again, it'll be a side thing if it even happens. Story will have Romance as a side-genre for the possibility, for now.

--

_July ninteenth, two thousand seventeen a.t.b. The day my life became a lie. The day that made my every action a product of one lie or another. Actions stemmed from pent up emotions I probably could have avoided having had to begin with if I had wanted to. But I didn't. Or did I? With the birth of a second entity within me, could I even be sure what thoughts carried my heart's true feeling?_

_That day, a fine line was drawn between my two names. Lelouch Lamperouge, seventeen year old Student Council Vice-President at Ashford Academy with a sister named Nunnally Lamperouge, whom my relationship with could admittedly be interpreted as disturbing in nature. That was not the case, of course, but we were far closer and quite possibly more intimate than most siblings were. I could understand where people came from when they made such claims._

_And then there was my other name. Lelouch Vi Britannia, the Japanese political hostage son of Charles Di Britannia, Emperor of the Britannian Empire. My only comfort was in the company of Nunnaly and in the occasional conversations I had with Clovis La Britannia, my older half-brother and Governor of Area 11._

_I suppose I owe him far more than I'd ever openly admit. Were it not for our secret contact, which was carefully hidden from the rest of the royal family, I'm sure that the swirling emotions that assailed me relentlessly would be far worse. He gave me reason to believe I didn't need to hate all of Britannia, in essence, with just his very presence._

_That's not to say I didn't feel intense hatred for Britannia. I certainly did, particularly toward my father. It was one thing to do nothing as my mother Marianne Vi Britannia was assassinated and Nunnally crippled and blinded, but then he also nearly had us disinherited and then shipped us off as political hostages simply because I confronted him about it. To a country he invaded shortly thereafter, no less._

_And his atrocities continued even after that. And with each one, my hatred grew and grew. Without the small comfort I had, there was little doubt in my mind that I'd want the whole of Britannia crushed. Hell, I can recall having once made a vow to do just that. A vow to my close friend Suzaku Kururugi whom I finally saw today, seven years later, as a Britannian soldier. Normally, that would have angered me to no end. But knowing him as well as I did and taking a moment to think rationally, it wasn't all that surprising that he'd do such a thing._

_And so, those are my two lives. With one exception. Lelouch Lamperouge has one thing Lelouch Vi Britannia does not. He has The Power of the King. A power that would test every limit of my sanity, but also give me the blade I needed to carry out what I'd had a deep desire to do for so very long. To create a world where Charles Di Britannia's ideals, the manifestation of everything I hated, no longer existed. A world where I could give true happiness to Nunnally and myself, as well as the rest who suffer beneath his atrocities._

o--o

"But unfortunately, your life is now over."

Lelouch froze as he heard the safety on the man's gun click off and the clip loaded into the gun settle into place, followed by said gun being pointed at him. Lelouch felt no fear. Rather, he felt such shock and disgust that it shook his mind and body into a subconscious freeze. Many things circulated through his head at that moment, stemming around the painfully obvious fact that he was about to die.

"Don't kill him!" she cried. The cause of all of what now could only be considered a heartless massacre on a large scale. The 'poison gas', as she'd been thought as, that a group of terrorists had stolen. Lelouch was glad they hadn't tried a bluff of using said gas, but that was hardly the problem at hand. Regardless of the details, the woman now free of her captors and running toward him was the reason behind many 'Eleven' deaths.

And at the same moment, the captain... man, Lelouch wasn't sure which miscellaneous title to dub him with, fired. Time seemed to slow as Lelouch pondered things as quickly as they would conjure themselves in his mind. A bullet was indeed moving toward him, that was for sure, but there was something more. The woman en route to him was going to cross directly in front of it, he noticed. And then, something clicked. He wasn't about to let her die, not when she had to answer for this massacre.

"Look out!" Lelouch beckoned loudly, leaping toward the woman. She was knocked toward the ground, with the bullet passing harmlessly just inches from her face and just inches above Lelouch's head. And yet had he done nothing, one of said heads would be left with a bullet wound in their head. The nearly unnoticed third choice was by far the most suitable answer, he mused.

But then, as it had been known to do on this particular day, realization struck once again. Two unarmed people on the ground, cornered by a squad of armed soldiers. One dodged bullet seemed like a god-given miracle just moments ago, but now it seemed highly overrated in his mind. And it seemed the captain had realized the same thing, as a loud cackle resounded through the place.

The woman grabbed his hand, out of some measure of worry Lelouch assumed. That was until he felt like his mind was being probed and assailed. But such a thing was simply absurd and equally impossible, right? Right. He must have been losing it. There was no way he felt a probing sensation within his mind exactly when she grabbed his hand. That kind of thing only happened in Manga, and the occasional fairy tale.

"You don't want it to end, do you?" the woman's voice asked. From inside his head, he noticed. Lelouch could only continue to listen as every anti-supernatural wall he'd just taken great care in building, high and wide as the Great Wall itself, was shattered as easily as a supermarket under the force of a Knightmare Frame's slash harken. But even so, one question had to be asked.

'What's this?' he thought to himself, not entirely sure whether or not his question reached her ears or not. Not that it really mattered one way or another, because he had a hunch that she was the type to ignore his questions and continue as if they'd never been asked. And if not that, perhaps she was just the type that only explained what she felt like explaining. Not that he had any justification with which to make either claim.

"It seems you have a reason to live," she continued, either proving his quick personality judge theory or confirming that she simply couldn't hear him. "If you had the power, you could live..." she continued, almost temptingly. Lelouch pondered over what she meant. Could she give him the power to live through this? Given the current situation, the possibility certainly was there.

"This is our contract," she said, as if making a sales pitch. Unfortunately, this wasn't a sales pitch he could sound out with a firm slam of a door. "In return for my gift of power, you must grant one wish of mine," she explained, her tone soft despite the seeming indifference it held. "If you enter this contract, you will live as a human, but also as one completely different. Different rules, different time, a different life..." as her voice drifted off, his mind's view of vivid blue lines was replaced with various images he could only assume were her's.

"The Power of the King will make you lonely indeed. If you are prepared for that, then..." she stopped once again, giving Lelouch the time of day to both ponder and react to the sudden development that had just been pushed into his face.

Not that he needed all that much time. Awash with complete certainty and understanding of the situation, an understanding which was a fleeting dream just moments ago no less, he took complete control. 'Very well. I hereby enter into this contract!' he declared definitively in his mind.

And then, still consumed by that same complete feeling, he stood up. The captain was taken aback, but he refused to let that show. Lelouch turned slowly toward him, taking a moment to notice that the woman beneath him had lost consciousness, with a determined expression plastered on his face. It wasn't cynical in the least, but the look was definitely unnerving for the captain. "Say..." Lelouch started, calmly. "How should I live, as a Britannian who hates Britannia?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. But the dramatic drawl was amusing, at least for the moment.

"You some kinda philosopher?" the captain asked incredulously, bringing his loaded gun up to point at Lelouch once again. Lelouch remained as calm and collected as he'd been since he stood, and the captain found himself involuntarily releasing a questioning grunt.

"What? Can't shoot?" Lelouch asked, a hint of mirth lacing his words. "You're up against a student. Or have you finally learned..." Lelouch paused for the small dramatic effect it would add, growing more amused with his sudden like for drama by the second. "That only those willing to be shot can themselves shoot others?" he spoke with more of an informative tone than a questioning one, but the captain knew which of the two it was.

Lelouch's left eye lit up with a red, bird shaped sigil, and his entire expression tightened into one that forced fear into the captain's veins in torrents. Lelouch took a moment to ponder over what he should do with the power. He had half a mind to kill them all on the spot, but he shrugged it off. He was more compassionate than that, if only slightly. Besides, they were perfectly useful for the idea he had building in his mind. One that would take a great deal of work, but he had expected no less.

"I order you," he began, taking great care to keep his eyes focused straight ahead. "To destroy Britannia!" he ordered, striking his right arm out to the side for emphasis as a bird shaped sigil appeared in his left eye. He had to admit he felt bad for giving such an order, but they would be of some brief help and would delay the destruction of the Shinjuku ghetto, if only slightly. The only regret Lelouch had was that he knew he'd just sent them all to their inevitable deaths.

The captain seemed to be in a daze for a moment, but Lelouch knew it had worked the moment he saw everyone's eyes outline with a red circle that marked their forced compliance to his order. "Yes, sir!" the captain said, completely out of the character Lelouch had seen before. The rest of them saluted as well, and then they were all marching away with guns raised to do god only knows what. Lelouch followed suit, quickly bringing the green haired woman onto his shoulder before he did so.

As he continued through the rubble filled streets, Lelouch used any energy he could muster to improve his hold on the unconscious green haired woman over his shoulder. His frail body ached tremendously under the weight, but he forced it aside. He knew he couldn't leave her behind. He forced all the energy from his body simply so he wouldn't fall behind. And at the same time, his mind went in a complete U-Turn as it recalled recent events. 'Suzaku... took a bullet for me,' he shuddered at the memory.

Why did it make him feel so bad? He hadn't seen Suzaku in seven years, since the end of the Second Pacific War in which Japan had been reduced to the lowly colony known as Area 11, so why was he awash with such worry? Such regret? As far as Lelouch was concerned, he needed no more than the company of Nunnally and the occasional talks he had with Clovis. Suzaku was a relic of his past that he desperately wanted to shrug aside. So why couldn't he?

Though through all the mixed emotions he felt, there was one thing he was certain of. He was overjoyed to know his friend was alive. To know that his one compannion during that time, who's role in Lelouch's life had been taken by Clovis since Lelouch was eleven, was still breathing made him feel overwhelmingly relieved. Although he had to admit, he was very much disliking the fact that the friend of Japanese descent was now an Honorary Britannian.

But such thoughts were short lived as he heard a loud screeching, and something in his mind said, 'Hey, odds are you're going to die if you don't move.' And hardly willing to die as he was, Lelouch jumped to the side just in time to have a Knightmare Frame pass by directly over where he'd been moments before. At the same time, a missle flew overhead in the near distance, which was where Lelouch assumed the Knightmare Frame was moments before.

And then something else told him it may be a good idea to take advantage of this situation. Here he was, at the feet of a Knightmare Frame. Why not take a perfectly good weapon to aid in his recent decision to attack the Britannian army. Why he was taking this opportunity, when he knew Clovis was most likely his foe, he wasn't quite sure. But between the pulsating hatred for the current Britannia and the knowledge of him having the power to prevent this massacre to some extent, he refused to turn a blind eye.

It was with such a conclusion that he found himself waving toward the cockpit of the Knightmare Frame he quickly recognized as a Sutherland with his free arm in a desperate attempt to innocently beg the knight's assistance.

"What is a student doing here?" the Knight asked demandingly.

"My sister here fell ill! I was returning her home when I was swept up into the conflict. May I request your protection?" Lelouch responded, looking up at the cockpit almost pleadingly.

"Who are you?" the Knight asked, avoiding Lelouch's request entirely. Lelouch stopped for a moment, pondering over various reasonable names for half a second before coming to a reasonable conclusion.

"I am Alan Spacer. My father is a duke," Lelouch explained. A momentary silence fell over them before a hiss was heard and the cockpit opened. The knight lowered himself by means of the zip wire, and Lelouch suppressed a startled choke as he saw the knight and began cursing the very gods for choosing to scorn him before he even had reason to be scorned.

"Alright, I'm going to have to see identification --" the knight's breath caught itself in his throat as he got a good look at the student. Short black hair that hung slightly over his forehead. A complexion that, even to another male, could only be described as beautiful. A frail body that complimented the complexion all too well. Only one person looked exactly like that. "...Prince Lelouch?" the knight asked disbelievingly.

o--o

_Jeremiah Gottwald. Member of the Britannian Purist faction, a faction consisting of those devoted to the ideal that only born Britannians had any right in their military and society. They directly oppose the Honorary Britannian system, which is a system allowing those carrying the nationality of one of the Empire's many conquests to take on Britannia's nationality. But even that had it's limits; Honorary Britannians, like Suzaku, are not aloud to be Knights. Essentially making Knightmare Frame piloting a distant dream for any but those of Britannian descent._

_Aside from that, Jeremiah held a far more crucial role in my past. He was a frequent guard at the Aries Palace, where Nunnally and I stayed with our mother. As such, I was constantly in his company and even found myself considering him as a friend more than a subordinate. And admittedly, seeing him here was as much a joy as it was seeing Suzaku again. My desire to plunge into a battle and change the world was put on the back burner as my past came back yet again._

_But I wasn't the only one with a past haunting him on this day. Jeremiah Gottwald wasn't just any guard at the Aries palace. He was one of the guards at the palace when my mother was assassinated. Clovis told me he'd come to Area 11 with the intent of repenting for this, an event which he considered his first failure that he had to correct. And yet here I was, defying his belief that he'd failed entirely. And while he had failed in the strictest sense, my living meant he was likely to be fighting an internal battle with himself at this moment._

o--o

"Jeremiah Gottwald," Lelouch returned the gesture with a curt nod, as calmly as he could. Jeremiah released a startled gasp, stepping back in an attempt to grasp the reality of the situation. The prince he'd believed to be dead, who also happened to be much of the reason for his hatred toward Elevens, had been alive all along? That meant Nunnally was too, didn't it? Jeremiah's mind was running a mile a minute, and so he brought himself to ask the one thing he could.

"How is Nunnally?"

Lelouch gave a small smile. "She's good. As innocent as you must remember her, too" he replied, laughing slightly. And somewhere amidst the momentary silence that followed, Jeremiah was assailed with yet another question. One he felt he had to ask.

"Why did you lie about your name?" he asked. Lelouch eyed him with half-lidded eyes, as if asking him if he were a complete idiot. But the Lelouch he remembered, harsh and realistic though he could be at times, would not openly ask such a question.

"I'm a political hostage believed dead. I can't very well say, 'This is your prince Lelouch Vi Britannia, I need your protection,' can I?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow as he asked that incredulous question, and even Jeremiah had to laugh.

"I suppose not. But then... why are you here?" Jeremiah felt all his built up relief of repentance flying out the window by the second. All the time he'd spent in Area 11 to repent over his initial failure, when he was a guard at the Aries Palace, was seemingly for nothing?

Lelouch promptly remembered what he had to do. And he couldn't delay any longer, even at the expense of abandoning his old friend and former guard. The bird shaped sigil appeared in his left eye again. "Give me your Knightmare," he ordered. Jeremiah's eyes got that red outlining to them as he was bound to the order Lelouch had given, and he promptly nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness. The code is YE7-AC6T3," Jeremiah replied, submitting into complete compliance as he tossed the key to his Sutherland to Lelouch. Lelouch grabbed it swiftly out of the midair, making past Jeremiah and toward the cable that would take him to the cockpit of the Sutherland. Only one other thing escaped his lips before he rose into the cockpit.

"I'm sorry, Jeremiah."

o--o

Suzaku awoke with a start, only to find himself staring at a bright white ceiling accompanied by bright lights that likely contributed considerably to the ceiling's brightness. Grunted as he tried to bring his arm to shield his eyes, he quickly found the pain too great and placed his arm on the bed he found himself laying on, instead opting to squint his eyes in order to protect them.

"Too bad!" an enthusiastic and slightly bone chilling voice called. From far closer than Suzaku was comfortable with, he had to admit. Suzaku opened his eyes again, forcing himself to adjust to the brightness before turning toward the speaker, finding a man with aged grey hair, an almost unnerving smile and clear glasses over his eyes.

Suzaku made a questioning grunt, watching as the man backed off, giving the young Honorary Britannian breathing space. "You were so close to the pearly white gates, Private First Class Kururugi!" he exclaimed, still smiling that bone chilling smile.

Suzaku looked toward the woman beside the man for help, and she simply sighed and shook her head. "You almost died, Suzaku. This thing saved you," the woman explained, leaning forward and showing him something on a folded cloth which he quickly identified as his broken pocket watch. Suzaku nodded knowingly, and reached out and took it despite the aching pain it gave him.

"Where am I?" Suzaku asked, finally having his short term memory come into focus and vividly recalling that he hadn't been in any place resembling the one he was now in at any point in the recent past.

"You're still in the Shinjuku ghetto," the man replied with his slightly dramatized tone of voice.

"We're near Prince Clovis, so you're safe here with Lloyd," the woman added.

"Now then," Lloyd started, changing the topic completely as he spun a Knightmare Frame key on his index finger. "Private First Class Kururugi, do you have any experience piloting a Knightmare Frame?" he asked, smirking in a sly way.

Suzaku was immediately taken aback. "Or course not. A former Eleven cannot become a Knight," he retorted.

"And if you could?" Lloyd asked, his smirk growing wider still.

Suzaku was helped to his feet and led out of the medical truck, and then around to the back where the form of a Knightmare Frame covered completely in a black cover greeted his eyes. His body ached intensely from the sudden movement, but his curiosity of the pressing situation overcame his pain.

"Congratulations!" Lloyd cried happily, stepping away from Suzaku and spreading his arms outward as if greeting an old friend. Suzaku collapsed into the hold of just the woman, who supported him as he watched Lloyd curiously. "We have a completely unique Knightmare Frame that awaits you! If you get inside it, you and your life will be changed forever!" he explained, as if imitating a real estate agent attempting to make a sale.

"Change my life... forever?" Suzaku asked, disbelievingly.

"Whether you want it to or not," the woman added. Suzaku did nothing but nod knowingly.

o--o

Elevens fled every which way, dodging whatever came their way. Be it shots from a battle tank or falling debris, there was seldom a thing in sight that wasn't life threatening to the Elevens in their peril. Corpses littered the street in horrifying amounts, blood coloring the better part of the ground as far as the eye could see.

A battle tank prepared to fire at hastily fleeing Elevens, only to be silenced by a Slash Harken going through the top of it. As the Slash Harken retracted toward a red Glasgow as it jumped out from the now broken ground below, it exploded. "Damn Britannians! How dare you!" the Glasgow's Knight cried in rage.

"Karen! Is the Glasgow still moving?!" a voice shouted through the Knight's transmitter.

"It's fine, Ogi!" Karen replied. "I'll run interference while you get these people out of here!" she shouted, urging the Glasgow to move again. She began heading down one of the many debris infested streets, keeping a close eye out for Britannian troops. "If I get caught, I'll only get a slap on the wrist! Don't worry about me!"

"I know! But they're coming at us full force here!" Ogi replied worriedly. Nearby, another resistance member sporting slightly spiked red hair and a seemingly annoyed expression finished loading a missile into his launcher, and promptly fired it into the sky.

Meanwhile, Lelouch opted not to involve himself in the conflict directly, carefully proceeded down streets that kept him away from the fighting. He placed a headset over his head, quickly calling his fellow council member, Shirley. Talking to her during times like this was a labouring task in and of itself, but Lelouch chose to ignore that fact in favor of the necessity of talking to her.

"Lulu? What are you calling me for?" Shirley asked through the headset. "Where are you? If you keep cutting class, you are going to get expelled!" Shirley exclaimed. Lelouch cringed slightly at the tone she was using, and knew all too well that he was in for another lecture about the idiocy in his gambling when he saw her next. But that was the least of his worries.

"Do you have a television there, Shirley?" Lelouch asked, ignoring her plethora of questions.

"A television?" Shirley asked, taken aback.

"I'm sorry, but it's important. Very important," Lelouch responded, looking down at the green haired woman strewn across his lap as he proceeded down the rubble and corpse filled streets of the Shinjuku ghetto. People continued to die all around him whether he could see it or not, and the sickened feeling in his stomach steadily grew worse and worse.

"Agh... yeah, hold on a sec," she said with a sigh. "Sorry, can I borrow this?" her distant voice asked to whomever else was in the same room as her at the time. "Okay. What is it, Lulu?"

"The news. What's happening in Shinjuku?" he asked.

"The news? They're saying there's a traffic jam."

"And why is that?"

"Umm... No real reason. They aren't saying," Shirley explained.

Lelouch heaved a sigh, turning at a corner and hiding as several military vehicles drove by. He kept an eye on the road as they continued by, waiting for them to all pass. 'As I expected. They're doing it in a way that benefits them,' he thought to himself.

"This is another one of your bets, isn't it Lulu? You and Rivalz need to stop doing that!" Shirley exclaimed angrily.

"Yes, I know. Also, will you tell Nunnally that I'll be late coming home tonight? Thank you," as soon as he finished, he promptly hung up on the now probably fuming fellow Student Council member. He brought up a radar of the area, indicating his location as well as the many Britannian forces that surrounded him. "Since this operation is classified, it'll be hardly possible to bring in reinforcements. Meaning, this is all the troops they have," he said to himself as soon as the radar had finished bringing up everything. "Even so, I can't exactly work alone."

He brought himself out of the cockpit, looking up to the sky as a Slash Harken stabbed into a helicopter, turning it into a burning entity in the sky that descended slightly toward the ground before exploding. "Shall I enlist their aid, then?" he asked himself. He returned inside the Sutherland, taking a moment to seek out a good vantage point before heading toward it, adjusting the green haired woman so she was laying across him again. He watched his radar as the signal of Karen's Glasgow as it was chased by three other signals that belonged to Britannia.

He pulled a transmitter from a compartment of the cockpit, quickly switching it on and holding it to his mouth. "Head west!" he ordered, despite the fact that he knew that the Glasgow's knight had no idea who he was and would more than likely contest that. "Use the last of your energy to get to the western exit!"

"Who are you?!" Karen shouted angrily, proving Lelouch's previous assumptions to be true. "How do you know this frequency?!"

"That isn't important right now!" Lelouch retorted. "If you want to protect the Elev-- Japanese, then trust me!"

"Win?" Karen asked, as if the very concept was something unbelievable. All the same, she proceeded to obey Lelouch's orders, diverting swiftly off of her current path and passing over toward a bridged area before leaping up onto it and onto the railway above, proceeding west along it with assistance from her land spinners. "Okay, what should I do now?" she cried, watching the train in front of her that was approaching all too quickly.

"Continue to believe in me, and I'll help you win," Lelouch responded. "Jump on top of it!" he ordered. Karen complied, leaping onto it and continuing to leap along it as the knight awaited new orders. One of the pursuing Sutherlands was forced to stop the train, while another proceeded to leap over it before Lelouch launched a well aimed Slash Harken removed it's head, sending it spinning toward the ground again.

"An ambush?!" the Knight of the Sutherland holding the train cried. "What unit are you from?" the Knight demanded upon noticing it's new foe was a fellow Sutherland.

"None!" Lelouch cried, grabbing his rifle and opening blind fire on the Sutherland. It's left arm fell victim to the poorly aimed shooting, and soon after the land spinner attached to it's left foot went as well, forcing the Sutherland to one knee. At that moment the Glasgow returned as well, and the Knight was forced to eject from the Sutherland. Lelouch smiled slightly. as he watched the ejected cockpit float safely down and away from the railway.

Lelouch disappeared from his vantage point as soon as he saw a group of men running toward the Glasgow, heading back down and toward the streets again. "Thank you," Karen said happily in thanks. "But how did you get a Sutherland?" she continued in bewilderment, but Lelouch opted to ignore her entirely for the moment.

Karen looked toward where Lelouch had been moments before, only to see the Sutherland had disappeared. 'Huh? Where'd he...' her thoughts were cut short as she turned toward the railway again, seeing Ogi and his group approaching quickly on foot. "Oi! Karen!" Ogi called. "We've got 'em out!" he informed her.

"Really?!" Karen cried exasperatedly. "Toshida's group as well?"

"Yeah," Ogi replied. "They should all be here soon too --"

"Are you the leader?" came Lelouch's voice suddenly over Ogi's transmitter

"Y-yeah..." Ogi replied confusedly, adjusting the rifle slung over his left shoulder.

"I'll give you everything in that train as a present. A tool, to help you win this fight," Lelouch said, nodding to himself in triumph. "If you wish to use it and stand victorious, listen to my commands!" Lelouch added.

Karen turned toward the train, opening the nearest car. She, as well as almost everyone else, promptly gasped as they saw it's contents. "There's more here!" someone cried from further down, having opened another car. She proceeded to open the other cars with help from those on foot, finally revealing a train full of Sutherlands. Lelouch grinned to himself as he watched it all unfolding through his Sutherland's factsphere's zoomed in view.

"You in the Glasgow!" Lelouch called abruptly, shaking Karen from whatever thoughts she had running through her mind at that point in time.

"Y-yes?" Karen asked, momentarily shocked by his sudden calling.

"You stay in there," he ordered. "Those machines don't suit your style of fighting. You're better off where you are," he explained calmly. "By the way, how much energy do you have left?" he asked.

"Not much," Karen replied, looking at the gauges quickly. "About fifteen minute's worth, I'd say," she responded.

"Well then, put in a new battery," Lelouch ordered. "I'll have new orders within fifteen minutes."

"You're certainly keeping yourself busy," Lelouch gave a startled choke and looked down quickly, only to be met with cat-like orange eyes staring at him curiously, a small smile that certainly carried mocking intent plastered on the woman's face.

"I see you're awake," Lelouch remarked, avoiding her remark. The woman gave a small nod, not bothering to move from her position. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"C.C.," she replied.

o--o

"Your Highness, it would seem some of the Elevens have begun to put up some form of a crude resistance."

Six men stood around a long table displaying an extremely large radar of the entire ghetto, watching as the massacre continued throughout the entire ghetto. The man who had just spoke, sporting an evident lack of hair and a slight scowl that showed his annoyance gave out a heavy sigh. "Even so, we clearly have an advantage. What shall we do, Your Highness?"

The bald man turned toward a man sitting on a throne-like seat some distance away from the table, elbow resting on an arm rest and hand holding the side of his head with slightly messy blond locks falling over both his hand and his sapphire blue eyes. He wore a purple uniform-like jacket that screamed royalty, and a tight white undershirt that acted as gloves as well. He had a deep frown on his face, clearly telling everyone present of his more than obvious displeasure with the scenario.

"Regardless..." the blond man started.

"Yes, I know Prince Clovis. The gas capsule..."

"...That is what we're calling it, General Bartley. And I know as well as any of you that we cannot afford to let it slide, but do we need to destroy the entire ghetto just for it?" Clovis asked hesitantly. 'Lelouch... please be far from here.'

"With all due respect, Your Highness, the Elevens are far too undisciplined if they have the will to mount such a resistance. Such an action is the perfect way to inspire some fear into their hearts, so much that never again may they dare oppose the Britannian Empire!" Bartley retorted, smacking his open palm down on the table.

"...Yes, I suppose so. Carry on, then," Clovis admitted in defeat.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Bartley replied, bowing. He gestured toward the table, pointing in particular to an area where many blue blips representing their own units were gathered. "Now, we suspect the enemy is in hiding at this point. With such small force, it is the natural assumption. That said, we should begin a thorough search of the undergrounds as well as the outlaying streets for the rebels," he explained, gesturing toward certain streets that spread out from where their units were gathered.

"Yes, well --" Clovis was cut off by rather abrupt vibrating on his left thigh. With a sigh, he dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked, despite the fact that he knew who was calling. Only one person knew how to reach his cell phone, and said person was the only reason he had a cell phone in the first place.

"Hello, brother," Lelouch responded, playfully adding his pet name for Clovis followed by a short chuckle. Clovis laughed briefly as well, much to the confusion of Bartley and the rest present whom seldom heard such a thing from their seemingly stoic prince.

"Greetings, Stuart," Clovis responded, smiling weakly.

"Stuart?" Lelouch asked with a short laugh. "Wasn't it Stephen last time?" again, a laugh followed suit.

"Yes, well, Stephen has grown old, hasn't he? And what do I owe the pleasure of your call, Stuart?"

Lelouch paused for a moment, as if pondering how best to go about the reason for his calling. As he sat in his Sutherland, keeping a close eye on all the happenings of the Britannian forces, he quickly deduced their every current action and his every possible response. And he smiled as he studied further. "How about a game?" he asked.

"A game?" Clovis asked, taken aback.

Lelouch smiled wider yet. "A chess match, for old time's sake. Me and the resistance against you and your Britannian forces."

"...What?!" Clovis cried, nearly falling over as he jumped to his feet with a start. "You can't be serious!"

"Completely so. I have already taken command of the resistance. What do you say?"

Clovis was absolutely dumbstruck. He'd prayed and prayed that the supposedly dead brother of his was far from the area, only to learn that they were now enemies. But people were waiting, and others dying, and Clovis knew he couldn't dwell on things for long. "...I'll accept," he replied hesitantly. With situations being as they were, did he really have an alternative? He began to stew on that as his mind began to conflict with his now conflicting duties: that to Britannia and his father, and that to his younger brother.

"Excellent. I'll talk to you again when time allows. Farewell, dear brother," and with that, the line went dead. With a heavy sigh, Clovis ran a hand through his hair as he made his way down the short three steps and approached the head of the table. The man standing there saluted before making his way around to another place at the table, waiting.

"I'll be taking command of strategy. Thank you, men," Clovis started. He proceeded to point to the group of gathered units and then at another smaller group further east. "Have both groups head toward the center. The enemy will likely be there, probably intend to make their stand there as well. We'll overwhelm them as soon as they emerge," he didn't like it, he knew, but he couldn't afford to show hesitation regardless of the foe. Even if it was Lelouch. He just hoped he wasn't acting too liberally, given who his foe was.

o--o

_I admit I felt a pang of guilt at this point, for a number of reasons. I know Clovis would be hesitant to attack the ghetto, and more than likely is under the influence of his generals and advisers that claim that it is the only way, when really all want is a means of increasing their fame. And now, knowing that I was his enemy would drive a wedge between his duty to Britannia and his familial duty. But at the same time, I suppose it was a test of sorts. To see who's side he would take were I to take on Britannia._

_But there was more to it than that. I was treating the resistance like nothing more than disposable trash. And while I could try to admit that I was okay with that; that I need not care how I treat others so long as the ones that do matter are treated properly, I knew otherwise. I knew fully well that my heart ached at the thought of using those that had lost so much to Britannia. Those who had lost the one thing one should never have to lose: their name._

o--o

Ogi sat in the cockpit of one of the Sutherlands, getting used to all the various things as quickly as he could whilst keeping an ear out for their mysterious strategic genius. Why he was giving this person the time of day, someone who wouldn't give them the slightest bit of information regarding himself, he wasn't sure. But in their current peril, he knew his hand was rather forced in the matter.

"Hey, do you think we're gonna be alright?" the seemingly annoyed red head asked from the ground below, looking up at Ogi's Sutherland. "The IFF is offline! How are we supposed to tell where the enemy is?!" he cried out, throwing his arms out wide in some wild annoyed arm gesture.

"They assume the odds are in their favour, Tamaki," Ogi replied assuredly. "We don't need any traps or anything like that. You guys just do as you're ordered!" he added, pressing some other buttons to fully put his screen's view into focus. Tamaki's overly dramatized arm gestures were the first thing he was greeted with, and suffice to say he was less than delighted at that.

"P1, can you move?" Lelouch's voice asked suddenly over Ogi's transmitter. Ogi flinched a little, taken aback by how suddenly he'd contacted him again despite how prepared he'd been for the eventuality. "It should be fairly similar to any others you've piloted," he continued, praying that his resistance group wasn't completely inept with Knightmare Frames. He'd have a slight problem if they did, to be sure.

"Who are you?" Ogi cried, bringing his own transmitter closer to his mouth to ensure he was heard. "At the very least, tell us your name!" he demanded, slightly agitated.

"I cannot," Lelouch replied simply, straight and to the point. "I can't know whether or not this frequency is being monitored," he continued, hoping that Ogi would get the idea and stand down on the issue. He couldn't afford to let the world know that Lelouch Lamperouge, seventeen year old student at Ashford Academy was associating himself with a band of resistance terrorists.

"You seem more troubled than you're letting on," C.C. commented from behind Lelouch. Lelouch didn't so much as glance back at her; in the short time he knew her, he already knew exactly what he'd be greeted with. That damned amused smirk that had yet to fail to irk him. And he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of irking him again, no matter how much she wanted him to.

"This is more tiring than I thought it'd be," Lelouch lied, rubbing his temple between his thumb and index finger. C.C. chuckled lightly, having seen through his lie entirely. But she knew better than to pry, just as he knew nothing would come from trying to pry with her. It was an unspoken promise that prying would get neither anywhere, and so they shrugged away such thoughts the moment they would come to mind.

"Anyway, Q1 is on her way," Lelouch said, addressing Ogi once again and abruptly shutting C.C. out. "The enemy's Sutherlands will be there in twenty five seconds. Two of them, most likely. Shoot them down on sight; they'll be caught off guard," Lelouch ordered, splitting his attention between issuing the orders and watching as things played out to quickly develop his next courses of action. Within seconds he'd read all possible moves Clovis could respond with, and his own counteractions to respond to those.

"Hey, is this guy serious?! What is he talking about?" Tamaki cried angrily. Ogi quickly silenced him with a firm 'Shh,' and began to ponder over whether or not to trust Lelouch. Without a name or even having seen him, he really had no reason to. But that aside, he knew what his answer would have to be.

"...Everyone, ready your weapons," Ogi ordered.

"You're not serious, are you?!" Tamaki protested angrily, taking a step forward and swinging an arm out in front of him in yet another dramatic arm gesture to display his already blatantly obvious displeasure.

"Three, two, one...!" Ogi counted aloud. As his count of one passed, he and two others opened fire with their Sutherlands. On the other side of the brick wall they faced, screeches of metal and death wails were heard as they hit the target Lelouch had assured them they would. Ogi did mental backflips of joy, all too glad he hadn't seemed to have made the wrong decision by putting them in Lelouch's hands.

Lelouch watched the happenings with great glee, chuckling lightly to himself. "ID transponders are a double-edged sword. If the resistance obeys my orders, the outcome is clear, Clovis," he muttered to himself, flipping a black knight chess piece up and down in his right hand. He grabbed his transmitter with his free hand, flicking it to life once again. "P1, P4, P7, move three hundred meters to the right, and fire your Slash Harkens at three o'clock!" he ordered.

"Alright! Everyone, obey that voice!" Ogi cried, jerking his Sutherland toward the right as he proceeded down Lelouch's aforementioned path. Tamaki made some non-sensible babble in protest, but quickly dropped into his Sutherland as well. Ogi quickly reached the targetted area, firing his Slash Harken at his three as Leloiuch had ordered, once again hearing the satisfying sound of metal connecting with metal as Lelouch's orders once again led to a successful strike.

"Q1, proceed along the rooftop and attack!" Lelouch ordered. Karen quickly gave an okay, firing her Slash Harken as a grapple to propel herself onto the roof, charging forward and throwing out her Glasgow's fist into the head of a Sutherland. "Good work. Now then..."

o--o

"We've lost Glaube's unit!" Bartley cried. "Ch-change frequencies! They're being monitored! They have to be!" he ordered in a fit of exasperated rage.

"We have! This is the fourth time!" another man cried out.

'I should have known better than to take you of all people lightly, Lelouch...' Clovis thought with a defeated sigh. "Bartley, get a grip!" he cried. "You pressured this, now we have to get out of this! Now, let's think. We..."

"Hello!" Lloyd's head popped up on the large screen in front of them, where an enlarged form of their radar had previously been displayed.

"What do you want, Lloyd?" Clovis asked in a clipped tone, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Well..." Lloyd took a dramatic pause, as one could come to expect from his slightly unpredictable nature. "Our new weapon here is nearly ready! Cecil is running through the last details as we speak!" he declared gleefully.

"Now really isn't the time!" Clovis cried in annoyed protest.

"Laszlo's unit has been lost!" Bartley cried disbelievingly. "Just what kind of rebels are these damned Elevens?!"

"Ones with a brilliant leader..." Clovis muttered to himself sadly. 'Why would you challenge me to a game using people's lives, Lelouch? Are you that heartless, or are you setting the stage for something else... something much more...' he pondered to himself. But such thoughts would never leave his mouth, and his inner turmoil was masked behind a veil of complete composure. "Send all units to the center of their formation!" Clovis ordered in a last ditch effort to overcome his younger brother.

"But Your Highness, that would cause our formation to crumble!" Bartley protested.

"We know they're there! Send all units there, at once!" Clovis ordered determinedly. He watched with equally determined focus as his forces all moved into his ordered position, only to watch as the signal for the resistance forces he had planned to surround disappeared. "W-what?!" he cried, dumbfounded. 'Am I really no match for you, Lelouch?!'

"The underground!" Bartley cried. But it was far too late. One by one, their signals began showing the signal lost message as their units were lost with unbelievable ease. Unbelievable to everyone except Clovis, who was simply at a loss for words. "They're inhuman!" Bartley cried, grasping his head tightly with both hands as he screamed out something akin to an insane man's cry for relief.

Clovis, meanwhile, simply began taking shocked steps away from the table in an attempt to get a grasp on his swirling thoughts. 'Lelouch! You read my every move! Was this really no more than a game to you! With so many lives at stake! I will have my answer!' his mind screamed out. "Lloyd!" he cried out loud, trying in vain to keep his mask of composure in place. But even he knew that it was a lost cause to try and achieve such a thing at that point. "Can your toy turn this disaster around?" he asked. 'I refuse to hand you the victory yet, Lelouch!'

"My lord," Lloyd started, smiling slyly. "Please call it the Lancelot."

o--o

"Just a bit more..." Lelouch muttered to himself. "All units, hold current position," he ordered, waiting. 'Clovis has made no attempt to pull back yet... does he have something up his sleeve?' he asked himself in wonder. "P1, P4, P7. Stay alert. They aren't done yet," Lelouch ordered.

"Is this what you plan to do with the power I gave you? Crush Britannia?" C.C. asked with a slight tinge of mirth.

"It's my father I'm after. His Empire is the barrier between us," Lelouch replied without so much as looking back. "I'm not so petty as to sentence an entire Empire to death for my desires. But that man must answer, and I won't get there without getting through them," Lelouch explained.

"And you are confidant you can do that?" C.C. asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is a long road," Lelouch admitted. "But it is to be one I have to travel. There's no turning back from here," he went on, this time looking back. Soul-reading violet eyes met with nerve-piercing orange ones in a stiff deadlock of gazes. There were no distasteful emotions spoken through their gazes. No petty displeasure that was spoken through their ability to hold a glare. Just a casual meeting of eyes intent on reading into the other. Both having no success.

"I only wonder, can you keep yourself in one piece to see this through," C.C. commented.

"It's all over if I die anyway. What kind of comment is that?"

"That's not what I meant."

As he began to stew over the true meaning of her words, static began to sound through his transmitter. "This is Group B! We're under attack!" someone cried. "It's fast! It's more amazing than... agh!" static followed as the person trying to speak met a rather gruesome end. Lelouch ran a hand down his face in slight annoyance.

"What is it?" Lelouch demanded to nobody in particular.

"It's white! One Knightmare Frame! It's far superior to any Sutherland... gah!" Lelouch groaned as he saw the signal lost appear at various other points as well.

"In over your head yet?" C.C. asked with mirth, and Lelouch could feel that god awful smirk once again.

"Hardly," he responded half-heartily, despite the sweat running down his brow. "P1, P4, pull back. P2, fire your Slash Harken to the left in five seconds," Lelouch ordered. The units in question acquiesced without question, but their only reward was slightly delaying the Knightmare Frame before it was once again on the move. "This isn't a chess game anymore, brother," Lelouch commented with a tinge of deep rooted annoyance.

"This is P6! The white Knightmare Frame is coming this way... orders!" another man cried. Lelouch sighed, quickly running over anything he could do to solve the current issue that was certainly not something that could be addressed with his chess genius.

"P6, moves one hundred meters up, then do an about face and open fire. Q1, move two hundred fifty meters in your current direction and fire your Slash Harken. P4 and P7, follow the Knightmare Frame carefully and open fire when P6 does. If all else fails, Group A move toward sector 2-1. Group B's remnants move toward sector 3-3, and Group C toward sector 1-4," Lelouch ordered, carefully calculating his own move in response. 'Chess is not a good comparison to war,' Lelouch admitted sadly, urging his own Sutherland into movement.

"Is it wise for you to move?" C.C. asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How can the men follow if the King doesn't move?" Lelouch asked with a smirk, turning onto a rubble free road and continuing down it. "And it's about time I sought out my brother, anyway," he added. C.C. nodded condition-less acceptance as she continued to watch with interest as Lelouch continued along, and before long a large purple mobile base flying the flags of Britannia and carrying the same emblem at various points of it's body came into view.

"Stay here," Lelouch ordered, opening the cockpit and jumping out. He lowered himself to the ground, immediately hiding behind one of the Sutherland's legs. He peeked around the corner carefully, only to be welcomed with the sight he had hoped to see. "Good. Group CA attacked the guards here, just as I hoped," Lelouch said to himself with a smile, running out and grabbing one of the corpses that lay in the area. He pulled it back to his hiding place and quickly changed out of his school uniform and into the military uniform, as well as the cumbersome helmet that came with it, hiding the former in his suit.

"What's the situation?" Lelouch asked into his transmitter, having heard nothing from his units in some time. Much to his chagrin, of course.

"It's too strong! We delayed it momentarily, and have followed your orders to fall back," Ogi replied, his breath coming out in raspy gasps. Lelouch sighed; that one Knightmare Frame had driven him to only one possible course of action. Not one he hadn't intended to make at some point anyway, but that wasn't the point. When he could, Lelouch would make that Knightmare Frame pilot pay dearly for ruining his plan.

"Hold out for a while longer. If any group falls under attack, flee toward sector 2-7," Lelouch ordered, not in any mood to soothe them with words of victory. He couldn't exactly say he would force them to retreat, because that was simply absurd by any stretch of the imagination. The fact that he intended to do just that was completely irrelevant, in his eyes. Not to mention that he absolutely refused to admit defeat to one Knightmare Frame, or anyone for that matter, until he had no moves left. He was far too prideful for that.

"Now then, I'm coming Clovis," Lelouch said to himself with a slight chuckle. He made sure the helmet was secure over his head before proceeding forward. Thanks to the efforts of the not so loyal Group CA, the brief journey went without incident until he reached the mobile base itself. Standing outside was one guard, and Lelouch cursed his lack of physical strength but also blessed his different power. "What business have you with His Highness Prince Clovis?!" the guard soldier demanded, raising his gun.

Lelouch wasn't startled in the least. He pulled his helmet off and the bird sigil flickered in his left eye again. "Let me pass, and forget having seen me," Lelouch ordered, straight and to the point. And to his disdain, he saw the red outline meaning the soldier was bound to his order appear. It wasn't that he disliked the power itself; but rather the sign that showed their mindless obedience. It was a necessary power he knew, but it was one he hoped to be able to use only when necessary.

"Understood. Carry on," the soldier replied, raising his gun and stepping back. Lelouch nodded before placing the helmet over his head again, heading up the stairs the soldier had been guarding and into the mobile base. He proceeded through a series of halls, going seemingly unnoticed by anyone he happened to pass by. It wasn't long until he came to a large room with a large table in the center, a throne like seat at the far end and a large screen along the wall to his right.

"What are you doing?" Clovis asked bitterly. "Get back out there!" he ordered, waving an arm to the side angrily.

"May I have a word alone, Your Highness?" Lelouch asked. Clovis abruptly took a step back in shock; he didn't need any time to know who the soldier was. But he couldn't let others know that he and the seemingly ordinary soldier were more than what he was with any of his men, and so he instantly composed himself once again and nodded.

"Yes, of course. Men," he paused, gesturing toward a door opposite the one Lelouch stood at. Although hesitant, everyone present nodded and made for the door, disappearing behind it. At that moment Clovis' expression soured considerably, and he narrowed his eyes. "Lelouch, what was the meaning of this challenge?" he demanded.

Lelouch pulled his helmet off, smiling at Clovis. "I meant nothing sinister, dear brother. Just a poor choice of words on my own part."

"And why did you lead them?" Clovis demanded, not at all relieved by Lelouch's explanation. But Lelouch had expected such a bitter greeting.

"Britannia grows more and more corrupt with every conquest father sends it on, Clovis. Something needs to change," Lelouch explained. Clovis was abruptly taken aback. The Lelouch he knew over the past six years had always simply run off and used his mind to answer his various whims, and he had expected this to be just another whim. Lelouch did have an ulterior motive?

"And what do you plan to do?" Clovis asked, now calmer.

"Rebel," Lelouch replied bluntly. "Restore rightful order to the world, and strike down father. I have no qualms with Britannia itself, Clovis, but I do have qualms with father. Both with his nature and on a personal basis."

"And you do understand what you're risking?!" Clovis cried.

"Clovis," Lelouch started, sternly. "Can you tell me you've never had thoughts of change? Thoughts of taking father's place, and shaping Britannia as you see fit? Shaping the world as you see fit?" Lelouch asked, staring deep into Clovis' eyes who suddenly felt very unnerved in his younger brother's presence.

"What..."

"Oh, dear brother," Lelouch broke Clovis from his shocked daze almost immediately. Lelouch walked forward, stretching one arm out and smiling, "Help me. Help those that father has made to suffer. Reshape Britannia into something that protects the weak, not push them away. We can do that, Clovis. We can change Britannia together."

"Lelouch..." Clovis took a step back, slightly frightened by the swirling emotions in his mind at that point.

"Let's change Britannia, my dear brother."

--

That was chapter one. Generally the same, minus a few tactics and a slightly more composed Lelouch when dealing with Suzaku (which I personally felt was a little out of place, but I tried changing it and it seemed even worse so I left it alone). And of course the noticeably more humane Lelouch, and the other changes I noted at the beginning. I also plan to use Clovis and Lelouch's relationship frequently later on, but I'm as of yet undecided where his relationship with Jeremiah will go. If you have personal opinions on that one, feel free to voice them.


	2. A Third Life

Sorry for the (much longer than intended) wait, guys! I was in the midst of writing this when I had to leave for America for my cousin's wedding, and during the course of that I realized that much of what I had written either was out of place or could be improved upon -- in some instances both. Bottom line, I went through about three drafts before I was satisfied with this. They all followed the same premise; there were simply several different methods of getting certain things across (I won't be specific because A) I don't want to spoil anything regardless of how insignificant and B) it doesn't really matter what in particular anyway).

Now, I'll note now that I'm going to take a swing in the dark here for this chapter, to be perfectly honest. With Clovis living and all, it took a great deal of thinking on my part to create a dramatic and convincing introduction for Zero. And while my attempt here can pass for acceptable, I will mention now that it will be both less climactic and blissfully devoid of any Orange implications. Furthermore, now that I have some slight clue as to where to go with Jeremiah, that will be somewhat easier. Not that I have any intention of revealing anything about what I intend to do with him. But I will say he is taking a very different path, to be sure.

I'll also take a moment to send a few thanks to my first honorable reviewers. I usually wouldn't think of addressing reviewers, due to the fact that it makes the unnecessary stuff far longer than needed (as in this instance), but in this case I'll make an exception simply because the initial feedback was more than I had ever anticipated. More or less because this was nothing more than an overdeveloped whim, really. I wish I could say I put a lot of thought into this, and in some respect I have if having more than a few plans for the distant future of the fic counts, but for the most part this was thought up on the spot and I went with it. And... now I'm rambling.

**Dodingdaga** - For the review as a whole in one respect, but more for the help with _Nii-san_ and _Nee-san_, thank you. It's been some time since I put any extensive work into my clearly limited knowledge of Japanese, and evidently my memory of which went where was part of the loss. That will be fixed in this chapter.

**Tpolich** - I thought of that problem as well, but addressing it is something I can only work at as I alter certain scenarios. A perfect case will be the battle of Narita (which will be occurring regardless of the vast changes otherwise), in which I have been hoping to make at least minor changes. While there's only so much I can say at this point, I have been put between a rock and a hard place when combining the cold and calculating and the humane sides of him.

**LittleNK** - I'm pleased to know that you found that little blunder amusing. Really, I'm flattered. That aside, the lack of Princess in Nunnally's name at that point was intentional on my part. That's all I'm saying, though, although simply saying that may have been saying too much, no? S

**GenMcvile** - Glad you liked it, and thanks for the review!

**nightmare70** - That was not made up on my part. I'm not sure what his standing was (rank and whatever), but he was a guard there at the time. It, if I recall, is the primary reason behind his being in Japan to begin with (attempting to repent, as I'd pointed out last chapter).

**Infinite Freedom** - Why thank you!

**Jin The Wind Master** - That was a possibility in my eyes, but that will all depend on how I play things out to that point. We (yes, _we_) will just have to see.

**Shadow Zeranion** - Well, I'm glad to hear it. I'll try my best.

**Rockmanbeasto** - Clovis really got the short end of the stick in Code Geass, I'll admit. That is one of the main reasons I want to include him more. In Cornelia's case I'm not sure where things will go, but Euphemia will be playing a far larger role further down the road.

And to everyone else who may review, but addressing them would make this bit far longer than it should be (although I've probably already crossed that line), thank you. Just because I'm not addressing you personally does not mean your review is any less significant, but the fact is that ten or more reviews being addressed will take way too much space.

With that done and out of the way, there's just one more thing before we get rolling, unfortunately. I'll note now that I have no intention of making a one year lapse between Code Geass and R2, if my story should extend that far to begin with. And even if I do decide to do such a lapse, unless things go drastically different than my current vision, the scenario for the premise of R2 will be completely different. As such, bringing in characters such as Li Xingke and Rolo will prove to be a difficult task. So if you're hoping to see either of them further down the rode, I can't make any promises as of yet. Just throwing that out there now.

And now, with all that said, let's get on with my (hardly canon) alterations of episodes three and four!

--

_As soon as I returned to my room at Ashford Academy that night, I immediately made straight for my personal washroom and "relieved" myself in the form of vomiting into the sink. It took some time for reality to catch up with me, but I had all too vividly realized that I had been the cause of death for a large number of people that day. In hindsight, it was an inevitability I knew. But that didn't alleviate the situation any._

_Nunnally and Sayako had both cast me worried glances as I returned from the washroom, but I dared not speak of the matter. Especially to Nunnally, who's every problem stemmed from such things as were now the root of my stomach's unrest. I simply waved them off with a smile, telling them I must have been more exhausted than I had initially thought that day. Which was true in more than one way, as Milly had been more than unreasonable in her punishment for my inexplicable disappearing act for the afternoon._

_Luckily, I hadn't needed to use Geass more than absolutely necessary... yet. Something deep down told me it was like a drug: something that would come back to haunt me later on if I abused it now. I had recalled C.C.'s question regarding whether or not I could keep myself in one piece to see everything through, and the thought crossed my mind that she had been referring to something like this. And though it was a power I would direly need further down the road, I couldn't help but worry what it would do to me in the end._

o--o

Lelouch promptly flopped over onto his bed, groaning and running a hand through his hair so it fell over his face. He couldn't find a single muscle in his body that didn't ache to the point of being inoperable, his legs most of all. The feel of the soft mattress beneath him felt heavenly, which was a feel he'd never regretted taking for granted more than he did at that point. Not that he was ungrateful or anything, but seven years isn't enough time to forget the overwhelming comfort he once had received back home in Britannia, and the Ashfords' luxury simply couldn't compare.

He watched his ceiling with growing interest, although that mainly came from the fact that he couldn't be bothered to look elsewhere. Despite being made no differently than any other roof, his had a strange tile design. Twelve across, twenty down... well, more than twenty, but that was all he could see. It was a large room, he knew; it just seemed far more underwhelming when it was occupied by the various things that were in place along the various walls of his room.

A bookshelf occupied his view to his right, along the west wall of the room. Another one stood in perfect symmetry with his bed along the east side of the room, and various paintings occupied the remainder of the open areas. Some Clovis had made for him of his other family members, such as one of Nunnally and Euphemia asleep in Cornelia's far more baby like arms. He remembered sincerely laughing when Clovis had given it to him in secret on his fourteenth birthday. A similar picture along the south wall detailed himself playing chess with Clovis while Odysseus - who was embarrassingly inept at the game by comparison despite being the eldest by a wide margin - watched on from the sidelines in sheer bewilderment.

It wasn't the brightest idea in the world, he knew, to keep such things in his room in a place where only the highest ups of the authority knew his identity. Even his closest friends, with the exception of Milly, saw him only as Lelouch Lamperouge. Luckily, she was also the only one amongst his close friends who was smart enough to notice the irregularity in a lamely conjured lie of a skilled painter making such work for Lelouch and that there was nothing else to it. It was insulting to them of course, but it was for the best, seeing as that was the best excuse he could really think of. It was one of those things one can't really excuse beyond blind denial. And Lelouch would never sink so low as to do that.

It wasn't until some time later... well, two minutes and seventeen seconds later by Lelouch's internal battery-less clock, that he noticed something was not normal in his room. Not normal may have been pushing it, he thought. Perhaps out of place... then it hit him. He felt like he was being stalked. Being the object of more than his fair share of fan girls, it was no foreign feeling to be sure. But he could have sworn, and almost could say with absolute certainty, that his curtains were not drawn and thus any such possibility of being stalked should have been erased from his mind.

But Lelouch could be a paranoid person at times, as Sayako had once mindlessly pointed out. His eyes searched his room fervently for any irregularity, anything slightly out of place that would make his completely immaculate and completely normal room... not normal. But to his great displeasure, there was nothing. No book on his bookshelf so much as slightly out of place. No painting slightly crooked out of place. No previously unseen spec of dirt on the floor. Nothing that would give him the... wait, hadn't he deduced the feeling as that of being stalked? But that was impossible at that moment in time. Even the clearly paranoid Lelouch could admit that.

Of course, that was until he felt something to his side stir slightly. Following the first lead to any irregularity, he glanced over. What he was met with was not dirt. It was not a book gone previously unnoticed as being missing from his bookshelf. It was green. Nothing but green, occupying the whole of his field of vision. And maybe a little spec here and there resembling that of pale skin, covered by a thick blanket. But mostly green. But for something to be a mix of pale skin and green... it could only have been the very same irregularity that had been the cause of all his recent irregularities. The one thing that had made his boring and regular life into something life threatening and... irregular.

"C.C.?!" Lelouch cried, jumping from the bed as a startled choke followed close after. C.C. indeed lay just next to where he had previously been, seemingly sound asleep and wearing nothing but one of his shirts that was much too large for herself. And one that he could not recall having allowing her to borrow, he noted dully. As his breathing evened and his blush faded, if it had been there at all, he sunk against the wall his back was now pressing against. "She should tell me next time she... wait, why is she in my bed?!" he cried to himself, losing his composure once more within mere moments of it having been regained.

"I'm tired," and Lelouch let out his second choking noise of the past forty-five seconds as he brought his head up so quickly it was a wonder he hadn't been rewarded with a cracking of his neck, only to be greeted with that annoyingly indifferent gaze of orange eyes. Or were they yellow? Lelouch had a hard time differing the two colors in this case.

"And so what made you think _my_ bed was the answer?" Lelouch asked bemusedly, narrowing his eyes all the while and keeping a stern glare on the green haired witch.

"I don't see another bed in here," she responded matter-of-factly, as if the prospect of him having a problem with her being in his bed hadn't crossed her mind. But he knew it had; she simply either didn't care or found further amusement in doing... whatever it was she was trying to do to him at that point. Whichever the case may be, he found himself growing increasingly agitated by the second.

"That's _my_ bed," he shot back, narrowing his already narrowed eyes into a leer. C.C. didn't seem to be intimidated in the slightest, which kind of annoyed him even further. In hindsight, though, why would he intimidate her? Sure he could put on a pretty mean leer if he needed to, but anyone that took the time to think - as C.C. seemed more than capable of doing - could have noticed that it wasn't exactly threatening. Being built like your average physically inept teenager, which is exactly what he happened to be, he didn't look particularly fear-inspiring. Beyond that look in his eyes, of course.

"Goodnight," C.C. replied before promptly rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep. By that point, it took all of Lelouch's willpower to suppress a growl. He was far beyond annoyed, and the object of his rage was occupying his _blissfully_ comfortable and _much_ needed bed. But as he felt his little energy drain further to the point where he was no longer sure if he was being kept up on anything but his sheer rage, he decided it would be good to quit while he was behind. Something he would never _normally_ do, but he was never _normally_ this tired. And so why not keep up his track of things that clearly weren't _normal_, right? With that thought in mind, Lelouch pulled the blankets from over C.C. as he collapsed on the bed, throwing them haphazardly over himself.

Unbeknownst to him, C.C.'s lips were spread in a wide grin of victory as she drifted off.

o--o

"This is the second time..." Lelouch muttered to himself, spitting into the sink one final time for good measure. In the whole six hours' sleep he had gotten, twice before had he found himself "relieving" himself in his bathroom, for a grand total of three "relieving" sessions that hardly provided any relief. The most recent session had been the worst, he decided, seeing as he was in the middle of drying his still wet hair when it had washed over him. But on the upside, if he could dare consider it an upside at all, he no longer felt as if he had anything left in his stomach to be lost. But on the downside, he now felt further deprived of sleep than he had the night before. And worse, he knew that he probably couldn't hope for any extra sleep. Not before going to school, anyway.

Lelouch grabbed the cup resting near the sink, taking a moment to cast a glance at the clock hanging just over his bed in the opposite room. Just after seven. He filled the cup with water and quickly drank it, sighing with relief at the slightly settled feeling in his stomach. He turned toward the mirror over the sink in front of him and ran a hand through his hair, still wet from the shower he had only recently stepped out of, in an attempt to stop it from matting itself to his face. Nodding to his reflection, satisfied that he was in no immediate danger of his hair settling down again, he reached for his school uniform that lay folded on the opposite end of the counter --

"Do you always leave the door open when a woman is in your room?" that is, until he jumped back and promptly smacked his head into the marble wall as C.C.'s voice once again successfully startled him. It had happened so much that the surprise in itself should have been something he was acquainted with, he knew. But he also knew that he was never good with surprises, especially the abrupt ones that she seemed to be subconsciously capable of. But most of all, he knew that she would torment him to no end should she know any of that.

"You should be honored. You're the first," Lelouch snidely remarked, reaching over in attempt two of getting his school uniform whilst mentally congratulating himself for already having dressed up to his waist. He growled in frustration, however, when he saw what was left of his uniform. His black uniform now rested in a rather crumpled mess on the floor from his swinging hand as he leaped back, and his white undershirt was in much the same predicament although it still rested on the counter. Save for the one sleeve that now hung over the counter and toward the ground. And despite the fact that it was at least in part his own fault, the sight annoyed Lelouch. When it came to his own home, he absolutely _hated_ messes. He hated them in general, now that he thought about it, but he could put up with it when it came to other places. Not that any of his frequent locales had such problems.

As he proceeded to dress his upper body, C.C. scoffed to herself in some form of amusement, although whether or not it could be interpreted as such Lelouch was unsure. "Honored? Aren't you just a little narcissistic?" she asked amusingly.

"Just a little," Lelouch replied off-handedly, finishing the last of his buttons on his uniform. He dodged around C.C. and back into his bedroom, drawing the curtains on his windows and finally allowing light into the room. "Stay here for now. I'll be back later... wait, do you intend to wear that white... _thing_ all day?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he got a good look at just how weird her outfit looked. A white jumpsuit that seemed much too large for the woman that was clearly much smaller than the outfit would allow her to appear, with black leather straps extending from the sleeves and across the chest that made it look somewhat like a straitjacket, wasn't exactly normal.

"I don't have anything else," C.C. pointed out, raising an eyebrow in return.

Lelouch didn't answer, and rather simply left the room. C.C. shrugged and moved to return to his bed when he returned, holding a small pile of Nunnally's clothing as well as one of her many school uniforms. "Wear these," he instructed before grabbing his book bag off the ground. "_Don't_ leave. I don't want to know what kind of trouble you could cause," he stressed, turning out the door again. But as he did, that nagging feeling in the back of his head told him that C.C.'s personality wouldn't allow him to trust her to obey his orders. And Geass wouldn't likely work on her, seeing as she supplied him with the power in the first place.

As it had been on his first trip into it, Lelouch found the adjoined bedroom rather empty. With how big their home was it should have came as little surprise to him, but he typically found the room to be occupied by Nunnally and Sayako. Not that he minded, seeing as Nunnally's school uniform was kept amongst the rest of her clothing and their absence had allowed him to sneak some of said clothes away alongside her normal clothes for C.C.'s benefit. And in Nunnally's case, he did vaguely remember her saying something along the lines of needing to go to school early. So that answered that.

It was only a ten minute walk through blissfully peaceful scenery until he reached the school, at which point he once again felt trapped. Trapped in a place he'd really be just as well off without, not that anybody understood that small fact. But what if they did? Would he still bother to attend school? As it was, he missed many classes in his gambling expeditions with Rivalz, but he still attended any classes that weren't interrupted by such things. If things were to get further out of hand, any possibility of maintaining any school life - unnecessary though it may be - would be shot immediately. Not that he hadn't considered this beforehand; he'd had thoughts of rebellion prior to the actual taking of action, and knew the consequences well enough. Nothing could prioritize itself higher in his mind than righting the world's evident mistakes.

And the first of such classes that were soon to be abandoned in favor of underdog rebellion incitations, History of Britannia which was quite possibly the most unnecessary class for a _Britannian_ prince to attend. All the same, it was one of the few that Lelouch actually made some small effort to pay attention to. Not that he needed to, but it was an interesting subject when he felt like listening all the same. Unfortunately for a rather frustrated teacher, today was no such day. Lelouch fully welcomed his head's desire to fall lifelessly over his desk that morning, drifting off for some more much needed rest almost immediately.

He awoke briefly somewhere during the lesson, only to be greeted with an overheard synopsis of the Siege of Yorktown. 'Benjamin Franklin was bribed by Duke Carl of Britannia, subsequently leading to a decisive defeat for the Continental army and George Washington's death. Yes, I know,' he reiterated to himself snidely, tuning out the actual lesson with his much faster recap. He glanced around the room to see how many people found the lesson as simplistic as he did, only to have his eyes fall on someone in particular.

She was seated three rows down from himself, and seemed rather focused on the lesson. Meaning, either it was something she thought of strongly or she was someone who had difficulty in class and couldn't afford to not pay attention. But more than that, it was her appearance that caught him. Particularly the shoulder length red hair. "One of the terrorists...?" he muttered to himself, taking great care to go unheard by those around him.

The lesson continued on in thus fashion, until Lelouch actually began listening again when the topic fell on that of the Second Pacific War. But as he continued to listen, his eyes didn't leave the woman he'd previously noticed. "Lelouch! Nice of you to join the land of the living," the teacher remarked, having caught Lelouch's vivid violet eyes from the corner of his own dull brown ones. "Since you're so clearly awake, care to answer a quick question?" he waited for a brief moment, as any good teacher would, before forcing the silence upon Lelouch as a positive answer. "Anti-Japanese prejudice was already strong prior to the war's end on September ninth, 2010. What efforts were made by Japanese forces to prevent this?"

"This would make for a good test," Lelouch muttered to himself, standing up. "Following the Japanese victory at Itsukushima, Britannian forces were forced from Hiroshima and subsequently pulled back to Takamatsu. The second multi-purpose fleet under command of General Kyoshiro Todo went on to Takamatsu, intending to liberate the city, which also doubled as a holding facility for most Japanese prisoners - soldiers or civilians - at that time. However, like most military engagements around the same time, the battle met with unproductive results due to Japan's abrupt surrender soon after. At the same time, various remnant groups of defeated Japanese units became guerrilla forces with the same intent in mind, and the two are what are now the Japanese Liberation Front, arguably the heroes of Japan even in the grudging minds of certain prejudice Britannians. Will that do?"

"Good," the teacher replied, nodding. Lelouch sat down and watched the red head from the corner of his eye, and was pleased to find her eyes were now intently upon him. As soon as she realized he had caught her staring, she snapped her head back to look toward the front again. _'Plan worked,'_ he thought to himself happily. Having succeeded in his plan and also feeling his eyelids becoming increasingly harder to keep open, he allowed himself to return to sleep. Or at the very least, he very much hoped to be able to.

o--o

Lunch break had come by two classes and four naps later, and Lelouch found another fleeting moment of peace. He stretched as he made his way down the halls of the large academy, not at all hungry but not having anything else to occupy his spare time with. Sure, more sleep sounded good, but that would mean actually paying attention in the classes to follow. And that in itself was a punishment as severe as simply forcing himself to stay awake.

People passed by on either side of him, all ignoring him in the hustle and bustle to reach whatever destination each had in mind. The only exception was the occasional glance a girl would give off as she passed by, and Lelouch was almost literally crying his joy that on this particular day Milly had promised to pull some strings so that the rush to get some lunch overcame their desire to chase him as they sometimes would. How she had planned to do so he didn't know, but he had a feeling that it was something that would leave her grandfather with a burning hole in his wallet. Not that he didn't have enough money to have such a burning hole mended, of course.

His musings were cut off as he was pulled aside by a rather rough grab at his left arm, and he found himself pressed against a wall with Rivalz's spare hand briefly pressed over his mouth to muffle any yelp of surprise Lelouch otherwise would have given off. "Lelouch, did you hear?!" he cried with sparkling eyes, and whatever it was that had him in such a daze boded ill for Lelouch. Probably something like a worthwhile gambling session that Rivalz always managed to stumble across, he guessed, but such a thing typically wouldn't have left him starstruck. And so, Lelouch simply had to ask.

"Who are you expecting me to play, Rivalz?" he asked quietly yet sincerely, putting on the innocent side of him he'd had to expand upon as of late. Not that he enjoyed it, but innocence could be a blessing when the hidden side of you is a murderer.

"No, no!" Rivalz cried, shaking his head violently. "It's the new student!"

"New student?" Lelouch asked, bewildered. Milly usually informed him of such things in advance. Especially in the case of a good looking woman, as this one seemed to be, if Rivalz's current gleaming excitement was any indication. But for it to have been so abrupt for him to not have been informed, then...

"She's..." Rivalz fell into a daze as he attempted to speak, and it wasn't until Lelouch gave a brief cough that he regained his composure. "She was in the courtyard! Maybe she's still there, if you hurry," he spoke slowly and teasingly, trying in vain to tempt Lelouch into his own mindset... Lelouch direly wanted to say perverted mindset, but his friend wasn't lecherous in the least. Not that he was god's gift to women, but he certainly didn't do them any serious harm. Lelouch mused on that pointlessly as he swiftly rounded to corner, tuning out confused shouts coming from Rivalz.

Lelouch made swiftly for the emergency stairs, pausing only briefly to enter in a code into the nearby keypad so that he wouldn't alert the school. He often wondered how the school found the excess funding for such a thing, but he cast it off as something they must have had the money for back when they were fresh from being royalty. It was a reasonable concept, seeing as Knightmare Frame producers certainly weren't lacking in money these days, if only because the damned things were in high demand for swift improvements. But even with that, most of their funds went into the school itself.

The school wasn't anything short of luxurious, on the other hand. It was something of a storybook palace; not anything like the actual palaces Lelouch knew from his home in Britannia, but they weren't anything like the ones in storybooks either. The academy had more rooms than he cared to count, and in the short seven years it had been around it had produced some of the finest young minds of Britannians. Even the occasional Honorary Britannian attended, if only for the sake of an education they couldn't find at the schools designed for the numbers. All that having been said, it actually struck Lelouch as little surprise that they had such strong security, to boot.

Lelouch leaped off of the last step and broke into a swift jog, making attempts that were nothing short of pitiful to dodge around people still trying to reach other destinations. By the time he had finally reached the doors leading to the courtyard, his hair was ruffled over his face and one of the buttons on his uniform had come loose. Exactly how that had happened, he couldn't fathom. Not that it mattered a whole lot, having been fixed as quickly as his hair was while trecking across the courtyard in a frantic search for who he could only assume was the source of the current madness.

"C.C.!" he muttered angrily under his breath. And as if by some weird form of summoning, as he rounded around a small flower bed he found her standing almost right in front of him. Well, not exactly standing. One leg was lifted up onto the black gate against which she rested, and her head was rolled back and her eyes closed. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked condescendingly, crossing his arms and tapping his foot as he too rested against the gate, his head tilted slightly to the side and brows furrowed into a frown.

C.C. responded by ignoring him completely; her own small payback for his rude tone. Not that she was acting any better in her act of ignoring him, but she didn't exactly care. Not that she particularly cared about anything, to any great degree. Anything but their contract itself, but he needed her power as badly as she needed the contract fulfilled. To that end, she was reasonably sure her only need for concern was constantly addressed. It was when he growled his disapproval of being ignored that she finally regarded him. With nothing more than a blank expression, of course, but it was a start. "Yes?"

"I said, what do you think you're doing?" he repeated, glaring menacingly at the glare-immune witch. That fact annoyed him to no end, really. He'd already acknowledged that she had the thought process to realize the lack of real threat in his glares, but being stripped of your only effective weapon did indeed annoy him. Well, it wasn't his _only_ weapon, but his only other weapon - although untested - likely wouldn't work on her. It was natural human instinct to not give someone something they could use against you. Then again, she wasn't completely human. But the concept must have been generally the same, he decided.

"I'm standing here," her answer was hardly what Lelouch was looking for, of course. But knowing her as well as his subconscious convinced him he did, that was the best he would get out of her. That knowledge didn't help his current irritation one bit, of course.

"You need to get out of here. Do you know the uproar you've caused?" he paused, waving his hands around in a show of exasperation he couldn't recall ever having shown prior to now. "They think you're a transfer student!" he added, and C.C.'s emotionless gaze had never belied her true feelings more than at that point. She was struck with an overwhelming delight at seeing his exasperation, so overwhelming in fact that she couldn't recall the last time she'd felt so delighted. Not that she remembered the last time she'd felt many emotions. Such things had eroded with time, unfortunately.

"I wanted pizza," she informed him with a shrug, her gaze emotionless still.

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow questioningly, "...Pizza?"

"Yes."

Lelouch felt himself growing more and more annoyed by her blunt and unsatisfying responses, but thought better of letting that show. He knew, as he'd repeated to himself thousands of times over, that it would get him nowhere. "Wait," he started, as realization of something dawned on him. She _should_ have had no means to pay for said pizza. "How are you intending to pay...?" he asked, almost afraid of the various possible answers he'd conjured in his mind. None of which he liked.

"With this," she replied, holding out Lelouch's credit card. An act that, naturally, was greeted with an intense glare from the very disgruntled Lelouch. She simply ignored the glare and walked by, pocketing the credit card again.

Turning toward her, Lelouch's expression softened. Not that he was any less annoyed, of course, but the furrowed brow was making his head hurt ever so slightly. Naturally, he felt no other obligation to give her anything but that glare. "And did I say you could?" he asked bemusedly. But he knew it was a one-sided question; one that he'd get no answer to, of course. He didn't really mind at this point. Such was the nature of their talks.

o--o

_I sometimes wonder if the power of Geass is worth dealing with her. She's absolutely insufferable, in a nutshell, and she does me no good beyond the Geass itself. I'm sure I could find uses for her, but unless our contract is threatened I fear she's too much of a wild card. In conclusion, the credit card thief has absolutely no merits whatsoever. ...Okay, so in the theoretical sense, I suppose she's attractive. But that is quite clearly not the issue at the moment, and I pray it never will be. Seduction is a useful tool, I admit, but Geass replaces any possible use for such a thing._

_It had taken some time and promises of pizza, but I recovered my credit card and sent her home in less than ten minutes. As I returned to the academy I was greeted with Rivalz's persistent questions of who she was and how I knew her. I ignored those questions entirely, opting only to confirm that she was not enrolling and that I had no further connection to her. And that was yet another lie to add to my lie of a life, but it couldn't be helped._

_The remainder of the day passed quickly, as did the student council meeting that followed. Gossip around school had changed at some point during the day from talk of C.C. to talk of the Shinjuku incident. I suppose Clovis was adamant that he try to rectify his own position by publicizing the incident, as mention of the Resistance's counterattack was nonexistent. _

_Rivalz had caught me staring at the red haired woman - whom he had confirmed to be Kallen Stadtfeld - and had quite the field day with questions. None that I answered, of course, but I did raise some of my own. She was indeed most likely the Glasgow pilot from Shinjuku, which would explain her reserved and falsely ill nature at school. After the meeting, I quickly pulled Kallen aside under the guise of asking her some questions. It wasn't a lie, although she did assume my meaning to be something entirely different._

o--o

"So, what do you want?" Kallen asked impatiently, her in-class niceties having long since been abandoned. Lelouch smirked at this, immediately confirming this impatient and demanding tone to be the one he heard in the Glasgow in Shinjuku. Which meant he had to get to know her somewhere down the line, seeing as his current plans very much included contacting that group again. Not that he intended to reveal that he was the voice that had helped her, but knowing more about her would help when fitting her into his plans. And she was a good pilot, he'd realized.

Lelouch's left eye flared with it's bird-shaped sigil, and he took a step closer to Kallen without breaking eye contact. "Answer my question," he said, more as a demand rather than request. But with Geass as his means, that's exactly what it was, of course. Kallen's eyes took on that red hue and her expression softened, not to that of her sheltered self but rather one showing complete submission. The look annoyed Lelouch slightly, but it couldn't be helped.

"Of course," she replied, lost in the spellbinding Geass command. Her eyes turned somewhat buggy in nature and she straightened out, as if in an attempt to be formal toward one whom she regarded with great respect. And such a thing, being as uncharacteristic as it was with her, only further annoyed Lelouch. But with a remedy of constantly telling himself that personal feelings and duty needed to be kept separate, he managed to get by.

"You were the pilot of the Glasgow in Shinjuku, correct?" he asked, simply for confirmation's sake.

"Yes, that's right."

"And why are you a terrorist?" as he asked this, Lelouch's mind set to work on thinking of the various - many though they were - reasons for such a thing. It wasn't a hard thing to figure out, he figured, but having Geass confirm his suspicions couldn't hurt.

"Because I am Japanese, not Eleven. Even though I am half-Britannian by blood," she responded in her monotonous daze. Lelouch was actually taken aback slightly by that remark; it was one that had failed to register itself in his mind.

"A half-blood? Then... why do you go so far?" he asked, shocked. He composed himself almost immediately, finally answering his eyes' urge to close for a moment. As he did so, his control on her mind slipped as well. She regarded him once again with a confused gaze, although one could easily mistake it as a glare of some sort. It must have been somewhere between the two, he mused as he walked away.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Kallen asked demandingly to his retreating figure, oblivious to the questioning she'd submitted to under the influence of Geass. That was a good thing, Lelouch told himself, that those he used Geass on retained no memory of having done anything he had ordered them to do. It would certainly be problematic in the future.

"No, nothing," Lelouch responded, still walking away. Kallen cast him a questioning glare that he only noticed by the slightly unnerved feeling he felt as he walked. As he turned back, Kallen stomped toward him rather angrily, and Lelouch recalled that he _had_ brought her out there for questioning and she did remember that fact, even if she didn't remember the actual questioning. "Ah, yes," he started innocently, his eye flaring up again with it's sigil. "Say nothing about Shinjuku," he ordered.

"...What do you mean, Shinjuku? Just what are you talking about?" she asked incredulously, unaffected by the Geass. Lelouch took a step back purely out of shock, trying to run his head through why it hadn't worked. Was his Geass a wildcard, just like it's supplier? The prospect was unlikely, he knew, but it was highly possible at the same time. And a power that he couldn't fully control wasn't a power he wanted, no matter how useful it was when it was working.

Deciding that just _must_ be it and no other explanations would _quite_ make as much sense, Lelouch decided to try again. "Leave here, now," he ordered, sneering at Kallen.

"What kind of tone is that? Answer my question!" Kallen retorted angrily, stepping closer toward him. Lelouch took a step back in time with each of her steps forward, until finally he simply turned tail and ran. Kallen gaped at him both in shock and annoyance, and began putting the suspicious pieces together. Could he be here mysterious voice from Shinjuku? Given the mystery about him, it was possible, she thought. With that thought in mind, she turned and started on her own way home whilst taking out her cell phone and racing through speed dials.

"Hello, Karen?" Ogi's voice errupted from her cell phone, panic apparent in his words. Clearly, he isn't made to be the kind of leader her brother was, Kallen thought to herself sadly. Not that she'd voice such things. They needed a leader of the Resistance and, sad though the fact was, Ogi Kaname was their best bet for a solid leader. But their really was no denying amongst the Resistance that their mysterious voice had been a godsend when it came to leadership. Both by comparison to Ogi and on his own, Lelouch had proven himself well amongst the Resistance.

"I may have found our mystery voice," she replied, twirling hair between two fingers with her free hand. She didn't typically do such absent minded things as she spoke, but the thrill of finding their mysterious savior was something they could all attest to being reason to be fidgety. Kallen was no exception.

"You what?!" Ogi's paniced voice cried so suddenly that Kallen had to pull the phone from her ear for a moment.

"He's a student here at Ashford," Kallen replied slowly, still trying to grasp that fact herself. "At least, I think so. He told me to say nothing about Shinjuku. He seemed really commanding, too. It was weird," Kallen explained in as much detail as she could recall. Which wasn't much, seeing as the vast majority of the conversation she'd shared with Lelouch had been with her under the influence of his Geass. To her, it was nothing more than a brief but very strange talk between the two.

o--o

Jeremiah sat at his new desk, his comfortable seat with it's fine wood stretching down either side with gold trimming along the top worked wonders on his back, relieving much of the built up stress of the last few days. Yet that relief did little to alleviate his sour mood, pondering over what had happened of late. His reunion with Prince Lelouch had been a surprise, and one that now tore at him. But what tore at him just as much was the reason for his new desk and comfortable seat: his temporary appointment as Acting-Consul of Area 11.

"Consul, may I come in?" a voice sounded from the other side of the door. After a moment's pause and a muttered okay from Jeremiah, the door opened and two people strode in. Closing the door behind her, the senior of the two approached Jeremiah's desk and nodded in greeting. "Consul Jeremiah," she greeted respectfully, although her comrade was reluctant to do so before she smacked his back, at which time he repeated her greeting and bowed slightly.

"Villetta, Kewell," Jeremiah returned the gesture, nodding to either and clasping his hands together on his desk. "I'm sorry about the delay. Things have been hectic with His Highness' orders to investigate any leads regarding the Resistance's counterattack. Not that I don't find it strange myself, but I seriously don't think we'll come across anything of use."

"Well, did you run into anything strange?" Kewell asked with a strange smile that seemed almost mocking, despite the rather forced respectful tone to his words. It could be said that he and Jeremiah weren't on the best of terms, and on the outside it seemed to be just that. But to them it was nothing more than a rather petty rivalry, and one that tended to negatively affect their behaviour around one another.

"No, nothing," Jeremiah came back, too deep into a distracted daze to pick up on anything except the words being spoken. The thought crossed Villetta's mind that she could loot his desk and he likely wouldn't notice, but as with any straying thoughts that betrayed her outward seriousness she quickly reprimanded herself and remained at attention. "Nothing except..."

"Except?" Kewell and Villetta asked in unison.

"I found a student in the ghetto. We spoke briefly, and he revealed himself to be Alan Spacer. He claimed to be the son of a duke, and requested my protection. I accepted, naturally, and then everything became a blur. When I came to, I was left there alone and my Sutherland had been stolen."

It was only a half truth, he knew, but it would cause an absolute uproar to reveal that he'd found the thought dead Lelouch Vi Britannia. It would only be worse if he revealed that, in the back of his mind, he thought the possibility there that his posthumous prince was the savior of the Resistance. If there was one; few thought there was, but Jeremiah knew they hadn't won on their own. Strangely, Clovis had jumped at the chance to agree with him. Not much more strange than the fact that Clovis had seemed extremely out of it of late, which was something Jeremiah could not recall having seen prior to then.

"So you're considering the possibility of a _student_ stealing your Sutherland and outsmarting Prince Clovis? You need to look at reality, Jeremiah; that's simply impossible," Kewell retorted mockingly, grinning all the while at his momentary victory. What he thought to be a victory, anyway, as he was oblivious to the true identity of the student in question. Not that he would have been in any mood to believe his superior if he did know, Jeremiah mused.

"While I won't call it impossible, Consul, I'm otherwise in agreement with Kewell on the matter," Villetta added, arms crossed over her chest and lively gray hair falling over the sides of her face despite the slight bun she'd put it in. The overall look made her look far less professional than she actually was; that is, were it not for the deathly serious look in her eyes that almost seemed condescending. Such was the impression one would get, Jeremiah included, from Villetta Nu.

"It's the only lead we have," Jeremiah cut in, silencing them both. His eyes scanned both of them briefly for any signs of further retort before continuing, quieter, "And Prince Clovis, having heard of this, has requested that I pursue this matter until it's completely disproved. I fear he knows more about it than I, but it's not my place to press for details from His Highness," he straightened himself out, sitting back in his seat and looking at both carefully. "Now, what did you two need?"

They both looked at eachother hesitantly for several moments before looking back at Jeremiah, and he felt a dread welling up inside him. Villetta was too confident to ever be hesitant, and Kewell... well, Kewell usually had a cocky air about him in Jeremiah's presence. Not that he didn't to some extent at that moment, of course, but the hesitance definitely took tiny shots at that cockiness. Overcoming such things and waiting as patiently as he could, Jeremiah continued to eye his two subordinates carefully in the hopes of finding anything that betrayed what they had to say.

"General Bartley Aspirus," Villetta started. "As the soon to be appointed Governor-General of Area 11, has ordered the Purist Faction to act as prison guards at the Area 11 Tokyo Settlement Holding Facility," Villetta spoke loudly and informatively, as if reading the order directly from a letter. The fact that those words had in fact come from a letter may have had something to do with that.

"And why is that?" although, deep down, Jeremiah knew the answer. There could only be one reason.

"His Highness Prince Clovis is to be held there on the grounds of abusing military authority."

o--o

"So, what exactly is it you're doing, again?" C.C. asked in bewilderment It had been two days since Lelouch had done anything remarkable and while she hadn't had any outstanding reason to tease him as of late, her mind was having a field day with remarks she could make about her roommate's atire. Surely enough, Lelouch had garbed himself in a skin tight purple outfit, consisting of a clearly too tight for comfort dress shirt and equally tight pants, both sporting golden emrboidery. Aside from that was a tulip shaped helmet placed over his head, revealing the fact that whatever he had in mind, he had no intention of revealing his identity. Lastly was a black cape thrown around his neck, with the top extending around either side of his helmet and the left side extending across his chest and toward the right side, effectively covering his chest as well as the better part of his entire body.

"Killing two birds with one stone," Lelouch replied stoically, finishing placing his helmet in place and testing the odd little things he'd done with it. Though it had taken no small amount of trouble, he had managed to allow himself to use Geass by means of a opening and closing portion of the mask over his left eye. "I'm going to free Clovis, and at the same time win the trust of the Resistance. I'm going to need both if I'm to change the world," Lelouch explained confidently.

"And how do you intend to do that? He is guilty," C.C. shot back, eyebrows raised in both in question and amusement.

"That doesn't matter. I can still protect him, and the rest of the weak, from my father."

With that, Lelouch made out the door and down the now darkened hallways of his home. It was a simple matter to dodge around any chance of being spotted by Sayako, mainly due to the fact that she was preoccupied with Nunnally as she usually was. He felt bad for disappearing without word, but he'd already determined that he had to separate his personal feelings and his duties. Even in the case of Clovis, he had convinced himself that it was simply because it would further his own goals. And even if that wasn't the case, he'd have to make that the case at some point.

o--o

"So you're saying someone reported to Britannia that they planned to break into the Tokyo Settlement Holding Facility?! Is he insane?" Tamaki cried angrilly, slamming his fist into the table nearby. In his rage he swiped his beer off the table and took back the remnants of the glass' contents, only to slam it down on the table in much the same manner.

"Perhaps," Ogi started. as soon as he'd recoiled from Tamaki's rage. "But if his aim is to get the public's attention, this is the perfect way to do it. To make the impossible possible... what do you think the chances are this guy's the guy who helped us in Shinjuku?"

"The chances are high," Yoshida commented absent-mindedly from across the room. "But if that's the case, do you think he can pull it off?"

"It's impossible," Tamaki retorted, snidely. Arguments continued in much the same way, with Tamaki as the instigator more often than not. And in the cases that such a title did not fall on him, it fell on someone who was retorting to something he said. And all the while, Ogi simply held a hand to his head in a vain attempt to calm the oncoming headache that he felt trying to overwhelm his head.

As if an angel sent from heaven to save him from the bickering of his comrades, Ogi's phone chose that moment to ring. Checking the caller ID briefly to confirm his suspicions as to who had called, he answered. "How is it, Karen?" he asked his comrade, who at that moment found herself outside the holding facility with a transmitter keeping her in contact with Lelouch, as well as any sound that should be made. Of all the Resistance, only her and Ogi had stepped up to support him when he'd called for their aid, and he'd told Ogi that he ought to make sure his comrades see the "creation of a miracle."

"He's still in there and, strangely, I haven't heard a single gunshot. But my sensor is telling me he's almost at the holding cell, so..." Karen's voice trailed off after that, simply too bewildered to continue speaking coherently. Just who _was_ their masked revolutionary? Such a title may not suit him just yet, but both Karen and Ogi had agreed that such a name would suit him should he succeed. And so far, he looked to be doing just that.

"How can that be? Karen, are you sure you're reading it right?!" Ogi cried, equally as bewildered as his on-the-scene comrade.

"Of course! I'm not believing it either! It's as if --" he voice was cut off by a massive explosion in the background so loud that Ogi jumped just hearing it through the phone. Karen must have noticed the stifled yelp Ogi had suppressed, because she quickly explained, "There was an explosion at the top of the prison! Do you think it's Britannia... No, it's him!" she cried. By this point Ogi had put his phone on speaker, and the entire room was now aware.

o--o

"W-who are you?" Clovis stuttered, aghast.

"I'm here to save you, _dear brother_," Lelouch said soothingly into his ear. Or at least he tried, but speaking soothingly from beneath his mask was rather difficult. He quickly grabbed the switch he'd prepared after much agonizing use of his Geass, and pressed it. In a moment explosions were sounding from all around, and walls of the cell crumbled in a way that gave Lelouch the access to the roof he needed.

He exited through the path he'd prepared with his arm wrapped around Clovis' side, the latter of which being terrified beyond all belief. The seemingly innocent brother of an even more innocent - and crippled - Ex-Princess was now exploding prisons in order to save his half-siblings, and leading Resistance forces in an armed assault against Britannia? Somewhere down the line Lelouch had changed, and whether it had been for the better or not Clovis couldn't decide.

Spotlights immediately centered on the two, and any stray spectators were scrambling hurriedly to call any news reporters they could reach to get them to the scene. Lelouch paused for a moment, eyes searching the ground below for Karen. As soon as he spotted her, driving Clovis' stolen car haphazardly along the nearest street toward the prison. Lelouch began navigating his way to the emergency stairs that had been unlocked through another planned use of his Geass, and began the swift descent to the ground level where Karen would be waiting.

"Karen, what's your ETA?" Lelouch asked into his transmitter, having removed his hand from around his brother's waist to grasp his hand as they descended the steps two at a time, Lelouch ignoring his quickly tiring body. As he ran his mind returned to the last time he'd used emergency stairs... just two days ago at school. It was a convenient way of getting outside quickly, he conceded, but his unfit body simply didn't like the convenience as much as he did.

"Give me a minute! Britannian security is hell here!" Karen's exasperated voice cried angrilly, a tinge of distrust lacing her words. Lelouch would change that quickly enough.

"Take your first right and we'll rendezvous there. If we're going to do this, it needs to be dramatic."

"Do you have a flair for the dramatic or something? This is hard enough as it is!"

"When you agreed to help, you agreed to trust me. So long as you do, you needn't worry," Lelouch said soothingly, his calming tone easing Clovis' nerves as much as they did for Karen. If they even aided the exasperated ace pilot. Lelouch slammed his shoulder roughly through the door as they reached the first floor, stumbling out into the cold night air. He quickly disappeared into the cloak of darkness, circling around to the side where Karen was indeed waiting. "Thank you for trusting me, Karen. Now, do you have the handcuffs?"

"H-handcuffs?!" Clovis cried disbelievingly.

Lelouch lowered his head toward Clovis', and out of Karen's range of hearing. "We may be brothers, but you're our prisoner right now. At least while I save you," Lelouch explained soothingly, smiling toothily from beneath his mask. Clovis seemed to relax, and Lelouch took that to mean he'd submitted to what Lelouch had in mind. That just made things easier for him, he mused.

"Here," Karen said, handing over the handcuffs and watching as Lelouch figuratively arrested his own brother. Not that she knew that fact; even with her suspicions as to the masked man's identity, his lineage was still a complete secret to her. And if it wasn't, Lelouch thought to himself, she wouldn't be there at that moment in time. So long as she still aided him, she could suspect his identity all she liked. If she came too close, however, he'd have to act.

The handcuffed Clovis was carried atop his own car by Lelouch who, with a tap of the foot, urged Karen to drive. It started at a slow pace, turning so it was en route to the front of the prison. As he waited for his fifteen minutes of fame, Lelouch pondered where he would go from here. First, he'd need to make himself a god to the Japanese. Once he had their fanatical support, he could begin a true rebellion. One with his own army to fight his father's, and one that would end with him being king.

"Turn here and approach the forming Britannian barricade," Lelouch ordered, watching keenly as Karen acquiesced to his orders without so much as a word of protest - something that made Lelouch for the first time feel gleeful about the situation. While he was about to score his first true victory - figurative or not - over Britannia, he couldn't feel exactly pleased about forcing people against their will into positions he needed them in for his plans. Having them at least accepting did wonder for his nerves and, as a by-product, led him to try an even more cocky move. "Drive straight through."

"What?! That's going to get us killed!" she looked up at Lelouch through the open roof, who only glanced back at her once before completely returning his attention to Britannian guard consisting of the Purist Faction that had clearly failed thus far. That was all it took, and she knew exactly what his unspoken words were. She was to trust him, regardless of her personal misgivings. He would deliver a miracle, and make the impossible possible. It was a mighty thing he was offering them, to be sure, but she certainly knew they couldn't do such a thing. If he could, what reason was there to not give him the chance?

Spotlights once again threatened Lelouch's eyes' function-ability, this time at much closer range that surely would have him squinting were it not for the mask covering his face. He blessed such a thing at that moment, watching as the blockade continued to grow closer as Karen drove. "Halt!" Lelouch called at once, and Karen pressed on the brakes as quickly as she could. Lelouch fought gravity as best he could, finally succeeding in halting himself from stumbling from the sheer force of the stop.

"Who are you?" Jeremiah asked as he opened the cockpit to his Sutherland. On closer glance he noticed who exactly the released convict was, and gasped audibly. "What are you doing with Prince Clovis?!" Jeremiah cried disbelievingly. Kewell and Villetta remained seated on either side of him, at the ready in the event that they should be needed. Not that the threat was high at that moment, with one masked lunatic, a driver and a handcuffed Clovis in front of them. But better safe than sorry was a philosophy that was common knowledge to a soldier.

"I... am Zero! I have secured Prince Clovis as he is not guilty of any crimes, and in my duty as one who protects the weak I have come to clear his name!" Lelouch cried. He mentally kicked himself repeatedly, wishing he could make Britannia's view of him better. But priority rested in securing Japan's support, and proving his might was the first step to such an end. "The real culprit, General Bartley Aspirus, has been put to death under my judgment!" at this point, Lelouch tapped at the car again, and the back opened and extended upwards to reveal an open coffin holding Bartley's corpse. There was a bullet wound in the center of his forehead from Lelouch's "judgment" and his eyes were wide open to show the shock of his sudden death.

"And what proof do you have of this?" Jeremiah asked in sheer shock. Partly due to the unfolding events, but also due to the fact that the voice definitely fit the one criteria he didn't want it to believe, and he'd certainly have to investigate. '...Prince Lelouch? It can't be you, can it?'

"This," Lelouch revealed an arm from beneath his cape's cloaking, with a recorder clenched in his hand. Jeremiah raised an eyebrow as Lelouch tossed the recorder to him, and he nearly stumbled from his Sutherland in his fight to catch it. He played it to himself, listening in disbelief as General Bartley openly admitted to a man named Zero that he had abused military authority, going against Clovis' orders and ordering a full retreat to escape the wrath of the Resistance's counterattack. 'Geass is a good tool for framing people, it would seem,' Lelouch thought to himself gleefully.

Jeremiah was speechless. Was this true? Or was it some sick lie? Whatever the case was, he only had one course of action. With a wave of his hand, all raised weapons were lowered. Smiling smugly to himself, Lelouch uncuffed Clovis and sent him over to the other side. 'And now, to scare Britannia a little and make myself the King of the Japanese. And then, I'll be coming for you, father.'

--

Just a quick note here, and it's regarding the Kallen/Karen issue. She's got two different names as per her two lives, and I pointed that out through this chapter. From now on, people at school shall still refer to her as Kallen, but the name I'll opt to use otherwise will be Karen. Just clearing that up. Until next time!


	3. To Be a King

This chapter was written with little to none of the canon storyline in mind, and as such very little of this chapter will be canon. This is owed in no small part to the fact that Stage 6 is a horrible filler episode that - amusing or not - I refuse to touch base on. And so, this chapter will be the official beginning of my major divergances from the canon plotline.

As a side note regarding the history class scene last chapter, I'll point out that the better part of it was made up. The only factual points were everything regarding the Siege of Yorktown, and the initial battle site for Todo's army during that war. Everything regarding the prisoner holding at Takamatsu and Todo's attack on said place were made up myself, mainly to further that part of the story. Not that it really harmed anything, seeing as Todo's accomplishments in that war aren't explained beyond being the instigator of the _Miracle of Itsukushima_.

--

Lelouch walked along the dimly lit streets of Tokyo with indifference displayed both in his facial expression - which could only be described as demonic in nature - and just about every aspect of his self at that moment. He'd long since parted ways with Karen and, upon finding a safe place, had discarded his Zero outfit that now was tucked away securely in the suitcase held in his left hand. As he walked, thoughts of how well things were going right now were all that came to mind. One could say that he was letting it get to him, but how could he not? Unless someone like Cornellia or Schneizel were sent to Area 11 to oppose him, the first stages of his rebellion would be met with little challenge, he mused.

Little challenge from Britannia, anyway. On the other hand, he had several tasks to complete before Britannia became the enemy. First would be to become the king that would lead his men, he knew, as nothing could be done before that. Then he'd need to gather the men he'd be leading, which would be a simple task. But even the finest army with the finest leadership would fall by the wayside if he didn't have the provisions for such a battle. That would probably be solved through Geass, as it had been in Shinjuku, though he'd take other means if they were present,

"And what exactly did that serve to do?" C.C. asked, slipping unannounced from an alleyway and falling into step with the gleeful prince. Much to her dismay, Lelouch had rendered himself oblivious to her sudden approach in his enthrallment. "I don't suppose freeing Clovis helps your rebellion, does it?" she added stoically.

"It wasn't saving him that mattered; that was just something I felt obligated to do. What mattered was the impact making the impossible possible will have on terrorist groups. Most will be ecstatic to fight alongside Zero, and I can use that to my advantage however I like. If I unite rebels under one banner, I can become the king that will lead the Japanese to their freedom. And those I judge unworthy of being the Black Knights of Japan - that being, the wildcards who will fight as the guardians of the weak and change the world essentially - will most likely band together to prove their worth to both Zero and the Japanese as a whole, and I can use them for my own devices from there."

"You've thought this through a lot, but what if they send a more skilled opponent to deal with the Zero threat? You're not as big a threat to Britannia as you would like, but they won't turn a blind eye to you either," C.C. shot back, brows furrowed in amusement as the two shuffled through the streets. Both had long since abandoned any sense of direction, Lelouch too inwardly pleased with himself to care and C.C. too set on seeing the depths of her partner's work despite how little it had to do with their contract.

"Clovis still has primary authority at the moment, and not even my father would mindlessly strip him of his rank in favor of someone who could pose a threat to me," Lelouch replied, pivoting on his right foot to proceed down a somewhat out of place alleyway. Maybe he did have some sense of direction lingering amidst all his thinking? If that was the case, even the stoic gray witch couldn't deny being slightly impressed. "And my target is Clovis, anyway."

"Clovis?"

"My father hates failure," Lelouch replied, finally turning his head slightly to regard his slightly shorter partner. "If Clovis fails to eliminate me, he'll be demoted and possibly removed from the country."

"And how does this help you? Or do you not want to endanger Clovis?" C.C. raised an eyebrow at the possibility, though even she doubted that was the case.

"It's not that. But having an influential inside man will help, and convincing Clovis will be easier if he can agree with my methods," Lelouch explained. As they appeared at the opposite end of the alleyway, a street lay extending before them. And the buildings that from a distance seemed to block their view of anything beyond them had parted to give a perfect view of the distant Ashford Academy, and C.C. had to wonder how Lelouch could be so coordinated from deep within the recesses of his mind.

In retrospect, however, wasn't he always there? Calculating how every person's move would affect his own and planning accordingly, life itself beind replayed in his mind on a huge chess board? As C.C. dawned on that, she had to wonder: just where was she in the scope of his plans? He was the king and, if his nickname for her meant anything, Karen was the queen. A fitting role for his ace pilot, she knew, but where did that leave herself?

o--o

"...Welcome back, Your Highness," Jeremiah started shakily, still having trouble bringing words together in anything resembling a solid form even now, three hours after the prison break. Was this Zero character, the only seemingly threatening terrorist in Area 11, Prince Lelouch? Was the prince of the Britannian empire so enveloped in some form of hatred that he would rebel against the empire? Jeremiah, being someone who believed in the Britannian empire through and through, simply couldn't fathom why it's prince would rebel.

And so, the only logical conclusion he could allow himself to come to was that he had been hearing things. That Zero could not be Prince Lelouch, end of story. But then, what was Lelouch doing in Shinjuku? And if Lelouch had been the means of their victory there - a highly possible scenario if his talents had developed over the years as much as his brothers and sisters had - then wouldn't it be reasonable to claim Zero was the same person? After all, not just anyone can slip through the Purist Faction with ease. Jeremiah had to admit, his sincere hopes that his prince was innocent were being horribly outmatched.

"Yes... Thank you, Jeremiah," Clovis replied, equally as shaken. Either he'd come to the same depressing speculation that Jeremiah had or, worse still, knew more on the matter as he had before. Perhaps this was why he'd wanted the Purist Faction investigating the Shinjuku battle so fervently? The possibility, as all the others, certainly was there. It wasn't a possibility Jeremiah liked, as he'd told himself on more than one occasion, but it was there all the same. And Jeremiah didn't particularly care that his thoughts were swirling around at this point, either.

The third prince was loaded into the back of a prisoner vehicle and sent off back toward the Tokyo City Hall, guarded by the Purist Faction leaders in their Sutherlands: Jermiah, Kewell and Villetta. The trip was without word, even if there was anyone for Clovis to speak to. Rather, he simply resigned to silence and thought over things. Lelouch had certainly made good on his claim to rebel thus far, he had seen first hand, and things would only get worse from there. Or better, depending who's belief he opted to support. As of yet, he couldn't say. And perhaps that was what ate at him so.

o--o

C.C. contentedly collapsed onto Lelouch's bed, sighing quietly to herself. Lelouch closed the door behind him after whispering a goodnight through the small opening to Nunnally, who had seemed terrified of him during that particular meeting. Had his glee gotten to him that much? He thought over that as he sat at his desk, grabbing a pen and absent-mindedly tapping it on the desk while slouching his head lazily over said desk and groaning. Nothing outrageously paranormal by the standards of anyone that knew him, but C.C. knew better than to outrule even the slightest of uncharacteristic things.

"What are you doing?" C.C. asked, raising an eyebrow in question. Lelouch turned his head to look at his bed's occupant without lifting it off the desk, eyelids drooping ever so slightly. C.C. couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"I've been testing this power you gave me. Specifically, testing it on Britannian officials," he answered slowly, his voice deeper than usual in his lazy daze. He mustered the energy to sit upright and turn in his chair to face C.C. before leaning forward and collapsing his chin into cupped hands. With his head securely in place with his hands, he closed his eyes and continued his thinking. Certainly, it had it's limits, he'd learned. But it was still quite powerful and very useful.

"Testing it?" C.C. asked, piqued.

"Yes. For example, I've learned the maximum distance - which is two hundred-seventy metres - and that it can work even if eye contact is made via a reflective surface such as a mirror. Also, it seems this power only works once per person, which would explain the malfunction when using it on Karen," he explained in detail, making the occasional hand gesture as by this point he was lively once more and sitting upright. "Lastly, it has a major flaw."

"A flaw?"

"Targets retain no memories of what happened to them while under Geass' influence. This is very good in it's own right, to be sure. But seeing as how you were captive by Britannia, I assume they have some knowledge of the Geass and I can only assume that - should cases of Knightmare Frames disappearing during a mental lapse arise - they will begin to piece things together," he explained bemusedly.

"So you're going to have to be careful, or they'll realize Zero has Geass?"

"That depends," Lelouch eyed C.C. carefully, raising an eyebrow. "You're probably not the only one who can give Geass, and I'm not the only one who has it, am I?" Lelouch had to wonder where these questions were coming from. Geass was a mysterious and malevolent thing, and he'd never really considered the possibility of others having Geass. But now that he had thought about it, the chances certainly were high. And that worried him slightly, especially if they harbored the same power he did.

"V.V.," C.C. stated, almost hesitantly.

"V.V.?" Lelouch asked, dumbfounded.

"Another one like me. He can give people Geass as well," C.C. explained, clearly intent on not further explaining the matter. But that didn't mean Lelouch couldn't still try to gather more information. And he had every intention to attempt to do just that.

"Who has he given Geass to, then?" Lelouch was almost afraid to ask. When she'd spoken, it seemed clearly hesitant. Was he going to be bothered by the answer? If that's the case, who is a likely answer? His mind began to wrack through the various possibilities, but only definitevely settled on one answer, and he absolutely dreaded it. Unfortunately, C.C. had the same answer.

"Charles Di Britannia," they said in unison.

o--o

_This is bad news, to say the least. But knowing it now, I can prepare beforehand. Prepare as best I can, anyway. I know nothing of his Geass, but the simple knowledge that he has one takes away some of his advantage. And that is vital in a war where going into battle with an unfair advantage is key. But I have to wonder: I can't use my Geass on C.C., but is the case any different with someone with Geass? I'd have to find means of testing that theory sometime._

_That aside, things had been relatively normal after that talk. I'd found time to get a small bed that, with much help from Sayako after a much longer time spent explaining some wacky scenario in which C.C. was a distant relative I didn't know existed, I got set up for her use. It made the room extremely crowded, but... well, my room's free space was definitely not a pressing issue. What was a pressing issue, among other things. was our new live-in guest. It would be easy to explain the situation to Nunnally, but being on campus made hiding C.C. from the Student Council quite impossible._

_The following day came rather quickly, as opposed to the comparably restless nights I'd had of late, and after a brief argument with C.C. - which I had the feeling would become a morning ritual for us - I found the time to have Nunnally meet her and explain the situation... the situation that C.C. would be living with us and leaving out all other details, of course. Nunnally was simply delighted to have a new friend, and seeing that bright smile as she nervously grasped C.C.'s hand with her own brightened my mood considerably. Thoughts of my rebellion didn't come to mind at all in Nunnally's company, and I'm sure that will be a weakness someday. But it, unlike most of my weaknesses, is not one I am willing to address._

_The new gossip of the day was the only thing really worth my notice, and it was gossip I'd been awaiting for some time now. Cornellia Li Britannia and Euphemia Li Britannia - that is, two more of my half-siblings - were being deployed as assistants to Clovis. Decoded, that means they were being sent to await the time when they would replace Clovis as Governor. Charles couldn't baselessly replace him, but he could wait for a small blunder and use it to put Cornellia in Clovis' place. The only downside to this meant the conflict in Area 18 is done with for the time being, which meant more people suffered under the title of numbers._

o--o

Lunch break, as it had almost everyday since the 'Shinjuku Incident', was welcomed with a warm sigh of blissful relief from Lelouch. He settled in the cafeteria - although it was so luxurious it might as well have been called a small restaurant - with a small plate of food, poking absent-mindedly at it while his mind was elsewhere. Again, as it usually had been of late. Unlike most cafeteria food it was far from questionable as to how edible it was, but that didn't make it any less worthy of being the unlucky victim of his lack of focus at that moment.

"Got a lot on your mind, Lelouch?" Lelouch looked over his shoulder to the approaching figure of Rivalz, a wide grin on his face. Normally Lelouch would have been pleased to see that grin - as it meant Rivalz had found a betting game for them to pit themselves in - but this time he felt little more than contented to see it. On one hand, he had to admit that such a thing would be childish of him with his much more important game still ongoing, but an afternoon of unwinding in one of his most fulfilling past-times could do him some good.

"You could say that," he spat out quickly. Rivalz gave him a questioning look. Normally, Lelouch would ignore such a question and immediately ask who the opponent was this time. Lelouch knew this fact, and realization hit that he'd made a slight blunder. Not one his admittedly slow friend would pick up on, but this was a small testament to the fact that he couldn't afford to be caught off guard like that. Not if he wanted to keep up the act of being completely normal as long as he could. "So who is it this time?" he continued bemusedly in an attempt to salvage the situation.

Rivalz's confused expression quickly turned sour and he frowned at his violet eye'd friend. "What, don't have the time for our games anymore, Lelouch?" Lelouch could tell he was just slightly annoyed, no matter how hard it was to tell.

"No, no! I could use a relaxed afternoon," he shot back quickly, waving his hands in wild arm gestures. Rivalz brightened up considerably at that, and he was grinning widely so quickly one would normally wonder if he'd stopped grinning to begin with. But with Rivalz being the self-oppointed best friend of Lelouch, Lelouch could see these differences. "So, who is it?"

"Turns out the old Duke William of Edinburgh had a son after all, and they kept some small amount of nobility in the EU. This guy is some descendant of Duke William..." Rivalz trailed off after that, and the fact that his own knowledge of their opponent was considerably limited. "Anyway, do you remember that Coup d'etat in Kofu four years ago? With the leader being recognized by Britannia as a Duke and being allowed to watch over matters in Kofu?"

"Yeah, and Kofu became an area where Elevens were given far better lives until a year ago when the Duke stopped caring and Kofu fell into disarray. The entire matter was rather skeptical though. Are you saying this guy is Kofu's revolutionary?"

"Exactly!" Rivalz chirped, grinning. "He wastes his life away indulging in games now, because Prince Clovis never trusted him much. I suppose you could expect as much, seeing as he was a rebel. It's a pity really... I'd say he'd be a match for that Zero guy even."

o--o

_We'll see about that..._

o--o

"And that's check," the Duke said, his head cradled in his hands. His opponent, like they all were, simply couldn't measure up to his intelect. And though this led to a quickly filled wallet - not that he needed the money - it also led to an unsatisfiable boredom. "Can you make your next move in, say, twenty-five seconds?" he asked cooly, lifted his head slightly. His long, blond hair flew in sync with the motion, and the ruffled mess then fell slightly over his face. One could say it made him look lazy and unkempt, and the truth was that one wouldn't be far from the truth in saying so. Such was the byproducts of the boring life Britannia forced him to lead.

"M'lord Henry, you're being awfully generous to him," a guard said from his side, dressed in Britallian standard military uniform with a rifle firmly grasped in his hands and a rapier sheathed at his side. "Lord Akira is just an Eleven, after all. Be too nice to them and, well, I think you know what will happen," Henry's head twitched to the side as he took note of the pure disgust in his guard's tone. Sadly, his designs for a better living situation for Elevens in Kofu hadn't gone beyond being something his allies supported. And as time went on, Eleven prejudice rooted itself further and further into Kofu all over again.

"P-please! Just a little bit longer and..." the slightly aged, maybe little over thirty, man across from Henry cried exasperatedly. The doors behind Henry chose to open at that moment to reveal Lelouch and Rivalz, and Akira breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Wonderful! But should you be missing class, sirs?" he rushed from his seat, uncaring of the disrespectfulness of such an action, and embraced Lelouch as a lost child would his mother. Lelouch chuckled to himself and pulled away from Akira, nodding in greeting.

"It is no big setback," he assured, and the three made their way back to the game so Lelouch could observe the matter. The guards were absolutely furious by this point, and only Henry's unwavering composure stayed their hands. Rivalz let out a loud whistle as he saw the board, and whispered some disheartening nonsense into Lelouch's ear, who didn't seem phased by such things. "I'm going to ask for double the initial amount, Lord Akira, but I can win this. In... Rivalz, go turn off the motorbike. We may actually be a while."

Rivalz blinked twice and poked at himself a couple times to make sure he was right of mind. Had Lelouch just had a flicker of uncertainty in his ability to swiftly win a game? But before he could dwell on that Lelouch gave a dismissive wave, and Rivalz hastened to obey. Lelouch took his seat where Akira had been, who had since then left the room, eyeing the board intently. "Was it wise of Lord Akira to allow a student to take his place?" Henry asked cockily, smiling as he noticed Lelouch's momentarily bewildered expression.

"Is it wise for a Duke no more than ten years my senior to make such remarks?" Lelouch replied absent-mindedly, quickly devising his strategy in his mind. But he had to admit, it had been hard to do so. Henry was way and away superior to any he'd faced, and he could tell that simply by looking at the chess board. Perhaps he _could_ be a match for Zero... no, he couldn't. Lelouch knew that such a thing was something he'd allow none but his father accomplish. The right of being a match for Zero only went to him, and the right to crush Zero's equal went only to Zero. Any other could only be registered as a close second.

Henry's aristocratic grin was the only thing Lelouch was greeted with as he sat upright. Well, that and a pair of rifle-holding guards that looked a little _too_ relieved that the replacement for Akira was a Britannian. "Do you think you can be a match for me, kid?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow for a moment before chuckling in response.

"Second only to Zero," was his answer, earning three gasps as he lifted a Knight that he had to admit was in the worst position imaginable. But it was such poorly positioned pieces that now formed the backbone of his strategy. He swept it dramatically through it's L-shaped trajectory, ending with taking a strategically irrelevant place where one of Henry's Pawns was prior to being swept away. "Knight takes Pawn," Lelouch remarked, slapping down on the button on the timer next to them with the base of the Pawn he'd just taken.

And such a move left Henry completely bewildered. 'A move like that? What does he have in mind?' and, doing the only thing he really could do at that moment, he grabbed a Pawn and moved it into the Knight's trajectory, planning to draw it out. At the same time, moving the Knight would leave his Bishop free to move in and declare Check once again. Of course, Lelouch had already considered all this and was doing a nice job of getting Henry swept up in his trap.

"Bishop takes Pawn," Lelouch declared, bringing out one of his own Bishops and taking the Pawn that had just moved. As he had suspected Henry's boredom led him to a false sense of security of sorts, and as such had now placed Lelouch in complete command of the game. More or less, anyway, but he'd never admit that total control wasn't his.

Meanwhile, Henry's thoughts were far more negative. 'Who is this kid?! How am I being matched by a student?' he cried mentally to himself, quickly reforming his now shattered strategy. The student had done a good job of shattering it, he admitted, but he'd not hand the victory to a student so quickly. And so a desperate battle of wits began, with Lelouch's control slipping bit by bit and Henry not gaining any control whatsoever - a scenario that left Rivalz's mind in ruin when he returned. In more than twenty minutes of continuous play, neither had gained any solid advantage over the other. Lelouch held a very tiny upper hand, but he felt himself growing more and more impressed with Henry's playing. Henry, in kind, had come to refer to Lelouch as the finest foe he'd faced in some time. But that respect didn't make their match any less competitive.

"Rivalz, go back to school," Lelouch started, not moving his eyes from the board in front of him. He had plenty of freedom to move, with little to no pressure, but that didn't make his predicament any less nerve wracking. Henry, though initially seeming inferior to him, had proven to keep up completely and their strategies had left the other with nothing gained. 'Perhaps this will be what it's like when I face the White Prince?' Lelouch pondered. And in his thinking, it took him a moment to register the questioning grunt from the very piqued Rivalz nearby. "This match will drag on longer than I anticipated, and Shirley will bust us for this. Return and tell her you were taking me to meet with an old friend or something."

"And old friend?"

"I do in fact have friends outside Ashford, Rivalz. Now go, please," Lelouch gave off a dismissive wave, taking his free hand to grasp a Pawn. He was glad Henry had increased the allotted time to forty-five seconds to accommodate the intensity of their game, because he'd have been in trouble on that move otherwise. He slid the Pawn forward, bringing it to rest next to one of Henry's - both remaining despite how long they'd been playing - Bishops. He clicked on the timer that read five seconds, and breathed a sigh of relief. Inwardly, of course.

Henry showed no less focus when it was his move, and he hardly noticed Rivalz scurrying out of the room to oblige to Lelouch's request. "Was it necessary to lie to your friend?" he asked, still pondering his next move. Their game had effectively made them have to plan each move separately, much to the chagrin of both of them.

"If you know it was a lie, is it necessary for you to drawl and not dismiss your guards as well?" Lelouch asked, clearly amused by Henry's attitude. Henry mearly gave an agreeing nod, and gave a dismissive wave in turn for his guards to leave. Both were very much shocked by this, but they dared not disobey and hurriedly left the room. "So... what is it that demands our privacy, Lord Lelouch?"

"Drop the 'Lord'. I'm not nobility," Lelouch said calmly, eyeing the timer to his right. Twenty seconds left, and Henry didn't seem to be showing any signs of figuring out his move. Lelouch smiled inwardly, until he saw Henry grasp one of his Bishops and slide it along so that it was in perfect alignment to take Lelouch's Queen on the following turn. Problem was, if he took the Bishop then a Rook could slide in and take his Queen. Certainly not a good thing, to be sure. "Not a bad move," Lelouch commented as Henry hit the timer's button.

"Were you expecting to keep up with me, Lelouch? A student should know better."

"You're right, a student _should_ know better. But as a revolutionary, we have common ground, do we not?" Lelouch chuckled softly, but to Henry this chuckle seemed distinctly muffled. Lelouch grabbed a Pawn and moved it into place as a barrier for his Queen, and as he hit the button on the timer Henry looked up. Lelouch once again chuckled at the gasp that was forcefully released.

"Zero...?" Henry asked disbelievingly, but after a moment he simply smiled. "I feel better calling you a match for me now. But I assume Zero wouldn't be here for these games?"

"Correct," Lelouch answered. The game forgotten and abandoned - to be declared a draw should any ask, much to the chagrin of both - they both sat back in their seats. "I've found a better game to play, Duke Henry of Kofu and Edinburgh. A game to change the world."

"Terrorism doesn't change the world. My past is testament to that, is it not?"

"Destruction and reform is not terrorism. It's revolutionizing. Britannia is a declining empire that cares only for Darwinism and conquest. That reality needs to change, as you know. I can do it. So can you," Lelouch explained calmly, absent-mindedly grabbing the black king from the board and twirling it in his fingers. "On the chess board of my rebellion, this is me. The white king is Charles Di Britannia," he reached over and, with a flick of the finger, knocked over the white king. "And that is my desire."

o--o

"Nunnally said Shirley told her you were gone all afternoon," C.C. noted as Lelouch walked into the room, returning the small suitcase that held his Zero outfit to it's secure hiding place under between a false bottom and the real bottom of his bed. It was unnoticeable unless you knew what you were looking for, which was exactly what Lelouch needed. Much more than he needed Sayako stumbling across a Zero outfit hidden in his room, to be sure.

"What of it?" Lelouch asked, settling down at his desk and opening the laptop resting there.

"Where were you?" C.C. asked, clearly hating being pushed in such a way. Normally she did such things to Lelouch, not the other way around, and so it was visibly annoying for her. And Lelouch, though he showed no outward signs of it, was loving every second of his momentary victory.

"Met with the leader of the Kofu Coup d'etat."

"...And?" C.C. cursed the fact that she had to know what went on at this moment. Were it not for the fact that such knowledge was necessary for her part of their contract, she'd have stopped caring long ago for sure. Worse yet, Lelouch knew this all too well and some small part of him that still had time for it was doing a victory dance in his mind.

"Rebelling won't do us a whole lot of good if we don't have funding, for one. Secondly, rebelling will serve no purpose if we remove Britannians from power, only to replace them with Japanese. We need to have a mix, so that the future will not be a repeat of what the present is," he stopped there, mainly due to the fact that the second part was still a work in progress. He hadn't _entirely_ deduced how he intended to make Japanese accept Britannian aid, but he _would_ do it. As Zero, it was his duty to make all things possible. Only he could do that.

"And how do you plan to make the Japanese accept the aid you want them to accept?" and just like that, C.C. turned the tables on Lelouch completely. She knew all too well that he had no real plan to address that, and he knew that she knew. And so started the souring of Lelouch's otherwise unusually happy mood. Hardened from much success on his part and several hours spent in his dear sister's company, almost immediately shattered by that one remark. But he wouldn't let that happen so easily.

"I'll organize all Japanese terrorists in Saitama. They're all at least slightly intrigued by the entity that is Zero, and will answer my call at least to see what I can do. Cornellia has little power right now, so it will be Clovis I fight. When it is all over Clovis will be demoted and Cornellia will be put in his place, and then the true rebellion can begin. The only thing I even have to do is secure armaments that the Duke won't have ready in time."

C.C. chose not to comment on that, as the Britannian prince seemed to be addressing that issue at the moment. She turned away from him, shamelessly slipping off her strait jacket and replacing it with the large shirt she still hadn't returned - much to both the embarrassment and chagrin of Lelouch as he caught this action in his peripherals - and collapsed onto her small bed. She may have found some brief amusement in teasing Lelouch, but there was never any fun in a joke taken too far. The saying was slightly misplaced for their scenario, but she didn't particularly care. And neither did he.

o--o

Sitting in class the next day, tuning out the teacher's morning drawls about god only knows what, Lelouch found himself staring out at the sky. It truly felt like a prison to him, having that perfectly cleaned window between him and that cloudless sky. That window was the barrier that kept him from everything beyond it. The situation was no different for any of the other students attending Ashford Academy, sure, but they didn't see it as a prison. Like any other school in the world, it was just a place they needed to spend the better part of their day in. To Lelouch, it was a place binding him from doing what he needed to do.

"And we have a new student entering our class today," Lelouch raised an eyebrow and turned toward his teacher, his previous musings forgotten. "He is an Eleven, so I expect you to not show disdain or anything of the sort," Lelouch was growing more and more suspicious. It would have to have been a special case for an Eleven to be allowed into a Britannian school. Unless... "You can come in now!" the teacher bellowed.

And the door opened, revealing the manifestation. Locks of chocolate brown hair, an innocent and somewhat naive smile. There, at the doorway, was Suzaku Kururugi. Only Milly noticed the wide-eyed shock Lelouch displayed, and she hummed in amusement and quietly muttered something Lelouch didn't pick up. Probably because he was too busy watching Suzaku make his way toward the front of the large classroom and turn toward the class, still smiling innocently. "I am Kururugi Suzaku, and I will be studying with you for some time. Please take good care of me."

His mannerisms were that of a true Japanese, Lelouch noticed, and many people grumbled about it. Suzaku seemed to ignore them as he allowed his eyes to wander, smiling warmly when he saw Lelouch and began the climb to where Lelouch sat, seating himself next to him. They both exchanged looks mentally asking a thousand questions, but both knew answers would need to wait until they had privacy.

For that very reason, classes passed exceptionally fast for Lelouch. As lunch - his only glimpse of freedom during the school day - hit, he immediately pulled Suzaku off to the side. He muttered no protests as his friend - whom he was still overjoyed to see breathing - led him to who knows where. The pulling ended and he found himself at the roof, with Lelouch already having detached himself and now leaning over the railing and gazing down at the throng of people going this way and that in their joyous moment of freedom.

"So..." Suzaku perked up, and noticed that in his daze he'd failed to notice Lelouch had one eye turned to look at him, the other still watching the activities below, Suzaku let out a questioning 'hmm', otherwise finding himself lost for words at that moment. "You serve Britannia now," Suzaku hadn't expected the question to be so blunt, but he _had_ expected it to be more cold than it was. In an odd way, Lelouch seemed... understanding of the situation.

"Listen, Lelouch, I..."

"Don't," thwarted abruptly, Suzaku raised a questioning brow. "I understand. It's who you are. I don't think it's _right_ that you serve them, but it is something you'd do. I won't question that. What I will question is..." he turned to face Suzaku fully, his elbows resting on the railing and his fingers drumming on his chest. "What do you hope to achieve?"

"I want to save Japan."

"From the inside?"

"Without fighting a war. With the Lancelot, I have the power to do that."

o--o

_Lancelot? The white Knightmare Frame?_

o--o

"You'll fight Japanese so that you can save them without fighting a war. Aren't you contradicting yourself, Suzaku?" Lelouch felt it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. Both in question and due to the fact that the motives of his best friend utterly bewildered him. He could understand wanting to avoid a war as much as the next person, but was Suzaku really so naive as to believe that it was possible to change Britannia without fighting a war? That, even if he restored Japanese rights, the Britannians' hearts would change?

"Perhaps. I may get their hatred, but I will get their rights."

"You're naive."

"What?"

"Nothing."

o--o

_The die had been cast. A week had past since Suzaku's enrollment, and I'd confirmed some things and arranged others. Lancelot was indeed the white Knightmare Frame, and I'd already discovered it's weaknesses. It would be a rough fight with inferior Knightmare Frames and, having seen Suzaku's skill, inferior troops, but I'd pull through. I had to win without killing Suzaku, and inferior troops was a good way to do it._

_Of course, I needed those troops. And I needed armaments, both of which I had secured. Armaments in the form of an entire transport of Sutherlands and Gloucesters, with the convoy having been destroyed afterward to make it look like a raid. It would enrage Britannia, but they'd think little of it. For troops, it was a simple matter of going public and announcing that I planned to raid Britannia in Saitama. This doubled as alerting Britannia so that they would gather their forces; the more that crumbled, the more god-like I'd be in the end. All I had to hope for was that enough terrorists would answer my call to arms._

_This broadcast was made possible by means of Diethard Reid. A zealous reporter, but not much else. He suggested abandoning his work for me, but it's better if he stayed where he was. I could get Clovis to protect his job, and he could allow me to rally support by making my achievments public. He also had incredible skill in espionage and the like, as I quickly learned when I clued into the fact that Sayako was his spy. He was oblivious to my knowledge of that, but probably because the story of a hiding prince doing nothing isn't interesting, whereas a masked revolutionary is very much so._

--

I'll end this there. The ending first person bit was a tad bit rushed, I admit, but otherwise this chapter went pretty well. It's the first one with no conflict whatsoever, but it is still quite eventful. I'm making my chapters long enough to be eventful, but I'll try to shorten them somewhat so that I can update more frequently. 20,000+ words in two chapters is impressive, sure, but it made for quite the wait in between. This one was also on part of other things, but we won't go there. Until Chapter 4, which will include the Saitama Ghetto battle (which, as you can see, will be completely different)!


	4. Order of the Black Knights

Here we go with Chapter 4! I get the feeling I'm speeding through the series' events a little bit (as the beginning of last chapter was just after episode 4, and here we are at episode 7), but from here on only very few key plot points will remain in place (such as the Battle of Narita, which I have mentioned quite a few times before now). All that aside, this chapter. will be episodes 7 and 8 (and will, with the exception of the vast changes to the way they'll play out, be otherwise canon).

And to answer the (unasked) questions some may have regarding why I made V.V.'s existence and the factor of the emperor having Geass known so early, it'll be revealed later. While for the time being I'll be following the series' tendency to put the origin of Geass and the like on the back burner in favor of Lelouch's purposes, instances with people such as Mao will be much longer so as to put more focus on Geass itself. It's my hope that in the end the battle will be more Lelouch vs. Charles rather than Black Knights vs. Britannia, but this is something that will both be MUCH further down the road and subject to change, depending on how R2 goes (I am not willing to change potential facts revealed later on regarding Geass, if there are any that will be revealed).

One final thing before we get started, though. Another of my lovely reviewers asked me to kill off Suzaku and, while I'd like to as much as you want me to, I won't. Simple reason being, I need him to stick around. Extended answer being, I've always liked to believe that there was hope for the salvation of his friendship with Lelouch, and that will be important later. And so, no, he will not be meeting an unfortunate end anytime soon. That doesn't mean I won't kill him off, but if I do it'll be because it was necessary and _not_ because of "Suzaku is in Lelouch's way, therefore he should die,"-based reviews. Still love the feedback. But I felt the need to address that.

--

"_Sensei_, are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" Lelouch asked innocently, looking up at the Geass-bound teacher in front of him. Using Geass to secure him a secret room in Ashford Academy for his personal use - full with a large screen for outgoing and incoming communications, much like those used by the military - was a stroke of brilliance on his part, but it also left him _very_ bored. Waiting for Henry to contact him had grown tiresome, to say the least.

"Yes, of course. Just don't let anyone catch you," Lelouch chuckled and waved the teacher away, who - under the bind of Geass - was all too happy to oblige. This move had effectively turned his prison into a base of operations, and that would be a saving grace until he had better means of getting things done. But when secrecy was necessary, what better way to be secretive than to make a base out of a place few people knew existed?

As soon as the teacher had left - his history teacher to be precise, as irony would have it - Lelouch pulled out a small folder. It read 'Top Secret' in bold red lettering, and it had in smaller letters 'From the desk of Duke Henry'. Lelouch smiled to himself, opening the folder and taking out the papers therein. Most were just statistical papers regarding what funds could be snuck off for Lelouch's use without raising Britannia's suspicion, while others were tactical papers that Henry had compiled in secret. Lelouch had to admit, the guy was a valuable ally.

"The Japanese Liberation Front... they won't assist me easily. They'll take more convincing than a simple prison break," Lelouch mused quietly, reading through papers. Many detailed the vast strategic advantage Lelouch would have if the JLF sided with him, as they had bases in areas such as Osaka Bay and Narita. Needless to say, such advantageous locations would be good sites to fight nice one-sided battles against tougher opponents like Cornelia.

He continued to flip through papers, stopping when he came to one with an enlarged picture of a young girl. She was really not that much younger than himself, and looked distinctly familiar to him. "An influential member of the Kyoto Houses, and a near-obsessive supporter of Zero, Kaguya Sumeragi... ah!" Lelouch tapped a finger to his head as he recalled her, smiling to himself. "Perhaps she'd support him even more if she knew his motives?"

He continued to flip through the report, finding nothing of tremendous interest. Mostly just status reports on requests he'd made - such as the alterations he'd requested be made to one of the Gloucesters he'd captured, which were coming along much faster than he'd anticipated. The only other thing of real interest was the JBU, or Japanese-Britannian Union, that Henry had been slowly creating for the past while. Though few in number, every one of it's members supported both sides, and would gladly serve Zero's aims. That was what Henry had said, anyway, and Lelouch felt compelled to believe the same.

"Hello!" Henry declared cheerfully, startling Lelouch out of his musings. Lelouch glanced at the unexpected grin on Henry's face on the large screen, and smiled briefly in return. "Ever the gloomy one, aren't we Zero... or should I call you Lelouch?" he tapped a finger to his cheek in mock thought, and even Lelouch chuckled at that.

"Zero," Lelouch deadpanned, smiling. Henry nodded in return, and Lelouch went back to reading the report. "Why include the information about Kaguya Sumeragi?" he asked. He had a few assumptions, sure, but none that he'd wager any bets on being correct. Though that was more than a little bit due to the fact that he had very little extensive knowledge of the Kyoto Houses, and thus didn't have much insight into how helpful they were. "Unless they have something really good..."

"Guren Type-02."

"What?"

"The Guren Type-02, the first Japanese Knightmare Frame not to be made in mass production. Also quite possibly the strongest Knightmare Frame currently developed. Quite an impressive toy, I must admit. Fukushahado radiation emitter, Landspinner propulsion systems comparable to the Lancelot's... what more could you want?" Henry explained gleefully, laughing heartily to himself.

"And this helps me, how? The Kyoto Houses won't lend aid to Zero without having _very_ good reason to," Lelouch retorted bemusedly, narrowing his eyes at his Duke companion.

"Kaguya and you are childhood friends of sorts, and she knows why you'd rebel."

"And you do?"

"Would you expect less from someone equal - oh, sorry, _second to_ - Zero?" Henry remarked cooly, and Lelouch had to concede to that. Little as he liked it, they _were_ equally - or almost equally - matched.

"So you're saying I should get this Guren Type-02... oh, I see. If I use it and deliver the stunning victory we're expecting, I'd be put at the forefront for the Kyoto House's support."

"Exactly, _Lord Zero_."

o--o

To say the situation for the Britannian nobility in Area 11 was hectic would be a vast understatement. With their Governor Clovis La Britannia having been under arrest until just a week before, support of the prince was at it's lowest. And with the arrogant declaration of his masked savior that he'd be raiding the Saitama Ghetto, things had been that much more out of control. Worse yet was the fact that Clovis seemed to be shaken beyond all recognition, and everything except the final say in matters had been thus forced onto Cornelia and Euphemia. The latter wasn't very helpful, but she tried and those around her liked to think that counted.

"Do we have any leads regarding the identity of this masked psycho?" Cornelia asked from her seat next to her brother. All the most important of Area 11's officials sat at the table, each carrying their own opinion regarding what needed to be done. Such was the world of politicians, sadly. Cornelia had never liked politics much, of course, and had always believed that commanders shouldn't have their hands in politics. Whoever had suggested she be made Clovis' aid in Area 11 clearly wasn't a like-minded individual.

"None," Clovis declared defiantly, shaking his head grimly. But any lie he dared make was made hard to believe the moment one looked into his eyes: swolen from god only knows what, and midnight black bags forming beneath them. "We are doing our best but, at this time, there's not much that can be done. I suggest we answer Zero's declaration by moving our forces to the Saitama Ghetto."

"But wouldn't that be doing exactly what he wants?" Euphemia asked timidly.

"Yes, it would," Clovis admitted. "But if we do nothing, what will be solved? The only thing we can do is suppress Zero before he becomes a threat and take him captive," Clovis explained. _'Perhaps then you will listen to reason, Lelouch. This rebellion isn't right!'_

"I agree," Cornelia added. "So, that just leaves who to send. What do you think, Clovis?"

"This was my blunder to begin with, sister, and I'll finish it. I'll lead our forces to Saitama and face Zero."

"But the troops still don't have your trust since the Shinjuku incident!" Cornelia protested. "And if Zero is as smart as we think, he will know that. And that will lead to disaster. You know that, Clovis."

"Besides," another one started. "It would be a poor way to honor the memory of His Highness Lelouch and his sister Nunnally is we failed so badly," he regarded Clovis seriously for a moment, then raised an eyebrow when he noticed the Governor's tilted head and watering eyes, if only slightly. "...Your Highness?"

"It's nothing," Clovis said, perking up. "It's because we must honor our late family that I want to do this. What good is honoring them if I'm hiding while someone else fights in my stead? I have to do this, and I will hear no protests."

_'Only I can convince Zero. Only I can save Lelouch from himself. And I will do it.'_

o--o

"...Zero?!"

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"We have nothing for you! Why are you here?!"

Complaints continued as such for well over a minute, and Lelouch simply tapped his foot to a randomly decided beat as he waited for them to calm themselves. It took them some time, but after a shrill scream sounded through the room of the Kyoto House's residency, Lelouch would have to commend the person who would be able to carry an argument. And such a person wasn't among any of these men, he decided, as the room fell into an intolerable silence.

"Lord Zero!" Kaguya cried happily, rushing forward and leaping at the masked terrorist, wrapping her slim arms around his stomach. Lelouch raised an eyebrow beneath his mask, but made no objections. She was, after all, a childhood friend of his and Suzaku's cousin. Besides, having her in good spirits would be beneficial for the goal of his unannounced and - if their complaints were any indicator - unwanted visit.

"Lady Kaguya," he returned the gesture, getting a raised eyebrow from several people in the room - Kaguya herself included - as to how he knew her name. He ignored the questioning brows and continued, not as a question but as a statement, much to the chagrin of those around, "I would speak with Lady Kaguya and Taizo Kirihara in private."

"His lack of mannerisms insult us!"

"Why should we allow this?!"

Again, the room broke into an uproar, but Lelouch wasn't particularly worried. Not when he had the obvious _adoration_ of the overly contented Kaguya still hanging from him. As memory recalled, she used to hang from him in much the same way when they were kids. He was always like a big brother to her - even if his priorities always fell on Nunnally, and she never got to admitting that he truly wasn't her brother. Not while she was still in his company she didn't, anyway. But, looking at her now, she had clearly changed. Perhaps not in her behaviour, but certainly in her appearance.

"Let's hear him out," Kirihara interjected, hidden behind a curtain - a curtain acting like a veil, that is, but a curtain all the same. Lelouch grinned in victory and carefully pried Kaguya from him, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder right before she would protest. Grumbles came from everyone else in the room, but they made no move to disobey the head of the Kyoto House. One by one they filed out until only Lelouch, Kaguya, and the veiled Kirihara remained. "You interest me, Zero. But why should we aid one terrorist?"

"I am not one. I am all of the terrorists."

"Is that so?"

"The terrorism in Area 11 is going nowhere. I will bring them all together and fight an all out war against Britannia. And I will remove Charles Di Britannia and his ideals from this world."

"And you believe you can do this?"

"I do."

"And we should believe you, why?" Kirihara asked, lifting the veil and gazing out at the masked man before him. Kaguya stepped away from Lelouch and turned toward him as well, waiting.

Lelouch didn't answer immediately. He took several steps forward, slowly reaching toward the mask on his face. Slowly, agonizingly so, he lifted it over his chin and his lips and his nose, and finally off completely off. He held it at his side, smiling slyly at the shocked expression on Kaguya's face and the wry grin on Kirihara's. "Because I have every reason to devote my life to it."

"Lelouch!" Kaguya cried in shock.

Kirihara was far more composed about the matter, simply laughing lightly. "The Black Prince is taking center stage, is he? I expected no less," Kirihara swung the veil, removing it from his view and leaning back. "However, the six families would be in an uproar if I simply gave you our full aid. What do you require, with what little help I can offer?" he asked, grinning.

"The Guren Type-02. I'll show the Kyoto House what I can do with it, and if they are satisfied, you lend me your full support. Is that reasonable?"

"It is, indeed," Kirihara let out a full blown hearty laugh at that point, unable to contain his glee. "The Black Prince will change the world! What a sick irony."

o--o

It had been three days since, and rumors were starting to get abound that Zero was 'all talk,' as many students had put it, seeing as there had been an evident lack of any terrorist activity in Saitama yet. The only person not phased was Karen herself, who knew when it was to take place. Which was in an hour, coincidentally. Neither she nor anyone else had heard from Zero since the broadcast, although many assumed Diethard was still in contact with him and had tried to get to him that way. All to no avail.

Zero himself was actually still at the academy, down in his base, grinning to himself as he read the latest report Henry had compiled. "So all the cosmetic work is done, too?" Lelouch questioned, glancing up at the feed he had with Henry.

"That's right, Zero. As you can see, your personal Gloucester is ready as well. I'd wager a guess that the improvements are enough to put you on fighting ground with Cornelia, even. We don't know if she'll be out there, but the possibility is there," Henry explained, visibly excited by his work. "And what of the Guren Type-02. Have you decided what to do with it yet?" he asked curiously.

"I'm giving it to one of the terrorists I helped in Shinjuku. Karen Kozuki, alias Kallen Stadtfeld."

"A half-blood?" Henry asked, impressing Lelouch once again with his quick wit.

"That's right. Ironically, she's a classmate here at the academy. But she's among the best as far as pilots at my disposal go," Lelouch explained off-handedly, placing all the papers back into their folder and, holding it over a trash can, burning it with a lighter. Extra insurance never hurt anyone, did it?

Certainly not.

"I assume you have some big plans for that beauty's toys?" Henry asked excitedly. "I mean, what better way to convince the Kyoto House than to make use of the Frame's best toys?"

"Make sure you're watching Diethard's broadcast tonight. You'll see what I have planned," Lelouch grinned widely, and he and Henry joined together in a clearly maniacal laugh. One that could only be shared between the two of them, as like-minded individuals. One that could only be shared by people of such genius that they shared, that they could probe eachother's thoughts to their depths and know what the other had planned. No ill will was shared between the two, which was favorable, because they'd know about it if the other had ill intent.

The feed was cut after that and Lelouch, suitcase carrying his Zero outfit in hand, and departed his makeshift base. Perhaps even such a term as makeshift base was pushing it, as a base in a school academy could hardly be considered a base of any sort. But it served the purposes he needed it to serve, and it allowed him to keep in contact with those that he didn't need others knowing he was in contact with - a list that consisted solely of Henry at that point in time, but that didn't matter too much.

It hadn't taken long to secretively travel from the base to his room where, as he expected, C.C. was sprawled out on his bed eating a pizza. It had been an unspoken truce between them, to some extent. She was more cooperative when he needed her to be, and she had free reign over his credit card. He didn't like her side of the agreement, really, but it was a small sacrifice. And he wasn't exactly lacking in funds, so the half a dozen pizzas here and there didn't hurt.

"Hurry up," Lelouch ordered impatiently from the doorway. C.C. regarded him with little more than a blank stare before silently returning to her pizza. As he waited, Lelouch wondered what would happen if he wasn't on time. It would be pretty embarrassing for Zero to keep his minions-to-be waiting, and he couldn't exactly say "Sorry, my partner in crime had to finish her pizza first," either. Though he had to admit, such a scenario would be quite amusing. But amusement isn't what he should have been caring about when organizing a large scale assault on one of Tokyo's wards, is it?

That brought another thought to mind. How the two related, nobody could dare say. But that didn't exactly matter to Lelouch. "Did you at least set up what I asked you to?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the slim figure laying across his bed, feet in the air and kicking as she ate at her pizza. C.C. gave a brief nod and looked at Lelouch, and it took him a moment to catch on to the fact that the look she was giving him was one filled with concern. Certainly out of the ordinary. "...What?"

"It's nothing."

That was the last straw. It wasn't part of their silent agreement, he knew, but there was just a line she shouldn't cross with her refusal to answer. He stomped over to her angrily, snatching the pizza box from in front of her and holding it over his head. C.C. turned to look at him in something resembling pure shock, a slice of pizza still in her hand and held to her mouth, bits of cheese falling from it and over her lips. It looked strangely adorable for a moment - that is, for a moment until Lelouch kicked himself mentally for letting her distract him in such a way to begin with.

"Lelouch...!" her reply was lost in the transition between desperate cry and menacing growl, and it amused the offending teenager to no end. She leaped to her feet and dashed at him, the skirt of his sister's school uniform fluttering upward for just a moment. Rather than registering that, his momentary distraction fell on why she was wearing it to begin with. He did recall her saying at one point that it was comfortable, but that was hardly a reasonable excuse.

C.C., meanwhile, opted to jump up and down like a kid trying to reach her confiscated toy in a vain attempt to reach the pizza box that was just out of finger tips' reach. Lelouch watched the scene with growing amusement. That is, until C.C. clued into alternative methods and tackled him to the ground. She snatched the box from his hands, grinning for a split second in victory. In her enthrallment she failed to notice she was straddling the teenager beneath her and, while Lelouch had, he was certainly lacking in the physical strength to force her off of him. And that was when he heard the door opening, much to his horror.

"Master Lelouch, Lady Nunnally seems to have misplaced one of her school uniforms. You wouldn't happen to know... where..." Sayoko stopped dead in her tracks, cheeks turning crimson as she caught sight of the _slightly_ suggestive scenario in front of her. After all, C.C. straddling Lelouch and grinning down at him - pizza box in her hands irrelevant - didn't leave much to the imagination. It was just unfortunate for those two that the imagination that stumbled across the scene is part of one of the most misinterpreting minds they could possibly have known. If not the most, Lelouch mused.

o--o

_That's... not good._

o--o

Lelouch smiled broadly to himself as he walked briskly up the steps that led up the back of the podium Diethard had prepared for him. It had taken no small amount of work the past nearly two weeks, but he'd set the stage for uniting every Japanese terrorist in Tokyo under a single banner. In fact, every single one of them were currently waiting in whatever dirt-infested outfits they'd prepared for the occasion. Lelouch grimaced at the sight; why must his crack team of faithful followers be these people? The Japanese had the strongest will, and are the best people to use for his revolution, he knew. And they had suffered more than just about any of the other numbers. But such good reasoning really didn't seem as reasonable as he watched them all.

Diethard occupied a space slightly out of sight, holding a video camera with it's view fixated on the center of the podium where Zero would stand in just a moment. He could hardly hide his glee at that moment. Change was finally occuring, and it's instigator had chosen _him_ to document it all! Would his name be seen alongside Zero's in the history books that future generations read? Probably not. Heck, Zero's name would probably be the only one of every terrorist gathered. But that didn't matter to Diethard. No, just witnessing these events could satisfy one such as him for life.

With a burst of flame the curtain between Lelouch and the waiting Japanese disappeared, and there Zero stood. He briskly walked toward the front of the podium, glancing to the side to make sure Diethard was recording the events and then to the other side to make sure C.C. was out of sight, and then spread his arms wide as if to welcome the Japanese below into a comforting hug. "Greetings, Japanese! I am before you for one reason and one reason only. But first!" he paused his clearly anti-climactic speech, and pointed at one of the Japanese below. "You! Why do you fight?" he demanded in that authoritive tone that none dared disobey.

"...Me?" the offending terrorist pointed to himself dumbly, and Lelouch simply nodded. "I fight... for our freedom! To be Japanese!" he declared proudly, beating a balled fist against his broad chest.

"Good," Lelouch nodded, pleased - at least to some degree - with the response. "And would you fight on any battlefield, against any foe, for your ideals? Would you protect the weak, even if they were Britannian, from the strong?" he asked sternly, his eyes not leaving the now once again dumbfounded terrorist.

"...No!" the terrorist blurted out, shocked. "We fight for the Japanese, and only the Japanese. Be they weak or strong, it's the Japanese we protect!" he cried out, once again beating a balled fist against his chest. Lelouch grimaced at that, dejected slightly. Though he wouldn't show it, of course, because they didn't need to know he was judging them. That's something that he'd keep to his inner circle.

"I see," Lelouch replied, turning to address the whole crowd again. The terrorist breathed a heavy sigh of relief and slouched his shoulders, as if having a whole ton of weight lifted from his shoulders at that moment. Which wasn't entirely a lie, sadly. "And the rest of you! Who agrees with this man?" Lelouch asked loudly. From the corner of his eye, he could see Diethard grinning widely. _'Diethard knows this is a judgment, does he? That's not very surprising,'_ Lelouch thought, feeling the mirth his voice would have used at that moment even in his head.

He redirected his attention to the crowd of terrorists, where about a quarter of the people had their hands up. That very much surprised Lelouch, who had expected far more to be selfish and think only of there own people. Smiling, Lelouch pointed to one of the people without their hand up, "You. Why is your hand not up?" he demanded calmly.

"Because if we fight only for the Japanese, the world will not change!" he barked in reply, far more certain of himself than the last unlucky terrorist to be called upon. Lelouch nodded in reply, and slowly separated the terrorists according to who rose their hand and who didn't. He noticed that every member he'd seen of the resistance he'd used in Shinjuku were among the latter, which delighted him. Not that it wasn't unexpected, being as good a judge of people as he was, but the reassurance helped.

"You all!" Lelouch beckoned, pointing at the group that hadn't raised their hand. Off to the side, Diethard did his best to make sure he got a good shot while keeping the identity of the terrorists hidden. "Will be the Black Knights of Japan! If you would trust me to do so, I will help you restore Japan! Not through terrorism - such actions will not change the world - but through a revolution! The Order of the Black Knights will not be a terrorist group, but Japan's personal army! We will fight against the strong and protect the weak, regardless of who, and restore Japan!"

Everyone in the group, despite the slight skepticism, cheered relentlessly as he finished. Lelouch knew that he'd have to deliver a true miracle to make them believe in a masked leader, but he was certain he could. _'No, only I can,'_ he reminded himself. As soon as they'd calmed and directed their attention to him again, he continued, "You will all be provided with coordinates shortly. I will see you there in one hour. Decide if you're willing to follow me in that time."

He then turned toward the other group, who seemed thoroughly confused. "You lot fight only for Japan, and thus are capable of no more than pointless terrorism. The Order of the Black Knights cannot include such people," he declared coldly. To say they were shocked was a terrible understatement, and Lelouch found no small amusement in their growing rage. They'd make good people to use as an example of the Order's ideals, for certain.

o--o

"H-hey! Where'd this guy get all these Knightmare Frames?! There must be fifty of them, at least!" Tamaki cried exasperatedly, running along the length of the mobile base Lelouch had prepared. It hadn't taken much work to secure one, but it _had_ taken a great deal of work to find one that could house so many Knightmare Frames. Lelouch smirked as he saw the awe and amazement plastered on the faces of his Black Knights as they saw what he'd prepared.

Lining either wall of the hanger of the mobile base were the Sutherlands and Gloucesters he'd secured, each sporting an obsidian black paint job and the new emblem of the Black Knights - an arrowhead with a reverse-L shaped point on either side, connected by another piece - on the shoulder of the frame. The only exceptions to this were the two Knightmare Frames at the far back, the Guren Nishiki and Lelouch's personal Gloucester. It's only difference from the other Gloucesters was the loss of the jousting lance in favor of a MVS sword identical to the ones on the Lancelot, the crimson red color scheme with a black cape, and a change in the head's design to sport the emblem of the Black Knights. _'Henry outdid himself with these changes... I hope he has a good cover story for the expenses he put into this.'_

"Zero!" Karen called from not far off, at the base of the Guren Type-02's large frame. Lelouch waved a dismissive wave to whomever had opted to crowd around him rather than inspecting his armaments, and make his way over to the gaping mouth'd Karen. "What is... this thing?" she asked disbelievingly as soon as she noticed Lelouch's head tilted in question. She still had strong suspicions regarding his identity, but such things couldn't be done in front of everyone else.

"The Guren Nishiki, Japan's first Knightmare Frame not to be made in mass-production. And your new Frame," he answered, watching her face grow into even further shock. He chuckled to himself as he noticed her look asking something along the lines of, "Are you insane?" and quickly shook his head in reply. "Unless you'd rather use your Glasgow, of course," he added, chuckling softly once more to himself. Neither of these chuckles were noticed by Karen, and that was for the best. None needed know that Zero had some emotions. He needed to be the perfect revolutionary of the world. And emotions were nothing more than a hindrance in battle; everyone knew that.

Karen had taken well over a minute to simply gape in sheer shock at her new Frame. Dare she deny it? She had to admit, outdated and crappy as it was, her Glasgow had a great deal of sentimental value. But things of sentimental value were better off treasured than used until they were no longer functional, right? With that thought in mind, she turned to look at Lelouch again, a smug look on her face. That was he original plan, anyway, until she realized that Zero had long since gone and was now back in the center of the hanger, the rest of his Black Knights around him. Twitching momentarily in annoyance, she quickly composed herself and strode over to join them, praying the entire way that she wasn't missing anything important.

"Ogi," Lelouch started, looking over toward the resistance leader. "With our ace pilot Karen Kozuki working for you, I believe you should have a command," he spoke with a slight air of disappointment, and Karen raised an eyebrow. His thoughts and words weren't on the same page, she thought for just a moment, before shrugging it off. Zero simply knew of Ogi's sub-par commanding abilities, she reasoned, and that was where the disappointment stemmed. She very much hoped so, anyway.

"No," Ogi replied almost immediately. "You brought us all together. That was something only you can do. Only you can lead us, Zero," murmurs of spiteful agreement ran amok throughout the crowd, but none dare voice the reason of that spite. They needed Zero, mask or without, and they couldn't aford to risk that by asking that he reveal himself. While some were more rueful about it than others, they all generally agreed that it mattered not who he was so long as he could deliver the miracle they needed.

"Very well," Lelouch replied gleefully. "In that case, Ogi Kaname shall serve as second-in-command and commander of Squad A. Shinichiro Tamaki shall be commander of Squad B, and Yoshitaka Minami shall serve as commander of Squad C. Karen Kozuki shall act directly under my command. That is all."

"Wait, that's it?!" several amongst the crowd called out. "What about the rest of us?!"

"I have only seen the resistance members in combat," Lelouch replied swiftly. "These are temporary positions so that we have a chain of command in our Order. This is simply to keep us from falling into chaos. If you want more, than show what you are made of. Prove your worth by striking down the Britannians that even now wait eagerly for us to act. Strike down those who have bound you to your Eleven names, and reclaim your name as a Japanese!"

Cheers of vehement approval replaced angry complaints, and as soon as it had settled all were eager to hear what Zero had for them. As luck would have it there were less than ten Knightmare Frames not in use once ever person had been assigned one, which was a far better turnout than he had hoped for. Waving a hand as a signal, Lelouch called for C.C. to follow him from within the shadows that he knew she'd been hiding in. "All the conditions have been cleared. Now we just wait to see what Clovis does, and we can blast them."

"That's quite the trap you've set for the Britannians. Think they'll notice?" C.C. shot back, eyebrow raised in question as they drew closer to the Gloucester Lelouch was to pilot, C.C. sticking to the shadows so as to remain out of view. "And why are you having me come with you?" she added, bemused.

"Henry modified the cockpit to seat two," Lelouch replied, pointing toward the second cable on the Gloucester. "You don't have any real purpose in there, but it's safer if you're with me," he explained, to which C.C. just nodded understandingly. She would have much preferred reading something and eating pizza back in their room, as they both knew, but the more she cooperated, the more she got further down the road. Again, as they both knew.

o--o

"Brother Clovis, are you sure you're going to be okay out there? Zero... I mean..." Euphemia started timidly. Clovis chuckled to himself and ruffled the younger sibling's hair affectionately. Euphemia was startled by such an action, and gazed at him worriedly. "What if something... happens? First Lelouch and Nunnally... not you too, brother Clovis. Please."

Clovis felt an inexplicable amount of guilt as she spoke. He wanted more than anything than to console her with words of her siblings' survival, but at the same time that would be breaking his oath to those very same siblings. Lelouch had stressed on more than one occasion how much Nunnally's safety meant to him, and what lengths he'd go to in order to ensure that safety. "...All will be well, Euphemia. I won't die out there," he stuck a hand out, pinkie outstretched. "Promise?" Euphemia looked at her older brother one last time before nodding quickly and enthusiastically, interlocking her pinkie with his own. "I'll survive... for you, and for them."

o--o

Lelouch groaned rather audibly and ran a hand idly down the length of the hair falling over his forehead before immediately replacing it with an annoyed sigh and leaning his head back against his seat. "Clovis isn't going to make this easy for us. He's likely designed some sort of belief of my disillusionment, and is bent on 'righting' my disillusionment. He always did have a knack for misreading key details, and I suppose that's where his fault lies..." but that revelation didn't make it easier for the young terrorist leader. With black Sutherlands and Gloucesters still departing in swaths from the mobile base, which Henry was secretly commandeering to keep it out of sight once the conflict began, Lelouch knew things were only beginning.

C.C., on the other hand, hadn't been so bored in a long time. Her seat provided little room for mobility, and lacked any buttons for her to fiddle with in her boredom. She felt like a baby stuck in a playpen, to say the least. Trying to cast those thoughts aside she decided to address he current questions and, leaning forward, she said, "Are you sure you can overpower Britannia here? You're going to be horribly overwhelmed."

Lelouch ignored her completely, much to her annoyance, and flipped on his transmitter. "Squad A, begin evacuating citizens. Squads B and C prepare to engage Britannian forces when they arrive, and hold them at bay. Karen, remain on standby. You'll have an important mission shortly," he ordered swiftly, watching his radar for any abnormalities. He knew he couldn't trust Suzaku to simply be amongst the Britannian forces that strangely had yet to deploy, given the incredible machine he piloted. The Lancelot certainly was an abnormality, requiring a separate strategy than the rest of Britannia's forces to remove.

"Understood!" the voices of Karen, Ogi, Tamaki and Minami chimed in together, and various signals on Lelouch's radar began moving according to his orders. The position of power felt good, Lelouch had to admit, and he wasn't all that willing to let go of it.

Squads B and C had made considerable distance before the first of Britannia's forces were deployed, which was a blessing in Lelouch's mind. "Use the buildings in the area as cover as necessary, and hold your position. I want reports before any one moves from the area," Lelouch ordered sternly, and was rewarded with enthusiastic replies once again. It was amazing really, how eager they were to be led around by a good commander.

"First group of Britannians identified! Ten Sutherlands!" Tamaki called, apparently forgetting to turn off the transmitter afterwards as Lelouch also picked up repeated curses as he fought. "Zero, there's a ton of them! Are you sure we can handle this?!" he added despairingly, much to Lelouch's chagrin. He was rather hoping his knights would fight on without questioning what exactly the point was.

"You're not trying to rout them. Just keep them at bay until I give the signal, and then fall back to me," Lelouch explained. Tamaki and Minami gave their ok's, Tamaki's being far more excitedly than Minami's, and soon an all out brawl had begun in the center of the ghetto. Lelouch chuckled to himself as he watched the ensuing chaos on his radar, signals being lost on both his side and Britannia's, with the vast majority on the latter end of the scale. All according to plan so far, Lelouch thought gleefullly, before turning his attention to Ogi's squad who were in the midst of getting citizens out of the battlefield. It was to their great fortune that residency for Elevens was only in the worst parts of the ghetto, which were near where the mobile base was.

As time went on, things only grew more and more hectic. Fights had spread from the originally central area to all along a line of the center, with Britannia slowly beginning to buckle in a sturdy defense. That couped with the advantage of numbers was boding ill for the unlucky Squads B and C, and Lelouch finally had to step in. "Tamaki, continue to hold strong! Minami, feign defeat and flee toward the underground. Pincer them!" Lelouch barked loudly, urging himself into movement. "I'll be there shortly to take over," he added quickly, moving as quickly as his enhanced Gloucester would. Which was delightfully fast, compared to the Sutherland he'd used in Shinjuku.

"Understood!" Minami and Tamaki answered, both moving to fulfill their duties. As Squad C pulled back Squad B centered itself once more, and began the drawn out task of bottlenecking the Britannian forces. Tamaki found himself under a near endless storm of gunfire, spinning his Gloucester every which way as he looked for any openings to strike. He found some, much to his delight, but far fewer than what could be considered satisfactory. Or more than satisfactory from a different perspective, as his squad had four Sutherlands out of service and ten damaged. Needless to say, what was originally a hard pressed situation had gone downhill since.

Lelouch evened the score somewhat as he came from a different road, crashing his MVS sword into the side of an unlucky Sutherland, it's pilot crying out and forcefully ejecting almost immediately. Tamaki voiced his thanks quickly before joining Lelouch, thrusting his lance through another Sutherland and then replacing it with his rifle, shooting down a more distant one. "How much longer?" Lelouch asked calmly, watching for any immediate risk of losing his life as he took cover alongside Tamaki behind a half destroyed building, firing when possible.

"We're almost done! Give us a few more minutes!" Ogi replied, urging citizens down the escape route he'd prepared. It didn't lead to the best of places, but it would certainly remove them from any life-threatening conflicts. Ogi was almost afraid they'd be starting this chaos without securing the lives of the citizens, and was all too delighted to obey when Zero had given him the order to ensure their safety.

Lelouch didn't reply, too heavily focused on the conflict at hand. With the bottleneck as it was they were staring down impossible numbers, and it was only with the timely pincer movement of Minami that they could prevent certain disaster. "Open fire! Force them back!" Lelouch ordered, bursting from his cover with MVS sword at the ready, cleaving through another Sutherland as he went. Being blessed with overwhelmingly superior power was a good thing, he realized quickly, with him being able to hold his own despite his certainly underwhelming piloting skills. Having Tamaki by him was a help too of course, watching the hot-headed red-head shoot holes through another Sutherland in their charge. Even with the apparent number disadvantage and constant reinforcements, Britannian forces quickly found themselves on the run from the strength the Black Knights found in Zero's tactics.

"Don't push too far," Lelouch warned quickly, taking cover again from a curiously well aimed shot that was only inches from striking his rifle from his hand. Much to his worry Cornellia's personal Gloucester bursted out from within the Britannian lines, and Tamaki only narrowly avoided a lance thrust to the cockpit. "Pull back and bottleneck again! I'll keep Cornellia at bay," Lelouch ordered, charging out and clashing his MVS sword somewhere along the extensive shaft of Cornellia's lance. Lelouch had the advantage of his weapon being one-handed, pulling his rifle and pointing it at the head of the Gloucester.

"...You're Zero, right?" Cornellia's clearly annoyed voice asked through an open transmission. Lelouch raised an eyebrow for a moment before noticing they were the only ones there, with his knights having fallen back and the Britannian forces having left in pursuit.

"That's right," he admitted coolly, lowering his rifle. "Cornellia Li Britannia, Governor-General of Area 11 in all but actual title. His Majesty certainly doesn't have any trust for Governor Clovis, does he?"

"How..." Lelouch could have kept playing this game in his glee, but thought better of it. He recalled what Clovis had told him, that Schneizel and Cornellia likely knew about his mother's assassination. Priorities in the battle at hand aside, his own justice still reigned high in his mind. But at the same time, he couldn't very well do so without revealing himself to her. And so, he had no choice but to admit defeat - temporary defeat, of course - and ignore the throbbing need to address that issue.

"Zero, we're done! Your orders?" Ogi's well-timed interruption came in, and Lelouch couldn't have been more pleased with the timing. Laughing to himself, he turned his attention back to Cornellia who was still quite immobilized by their deadlock. She could have pulled back but being the woman she was, she wouldn't have taken the slight to her honor. Knowing this, Lelouch found neutralizing the threat before him relatively simple.

"That doesn't matter. Until next time, Princess Cornellia," and with that he quickly shot at her Landspinners, effectively immobilizing her as he turned to begin the long journey back to the mobile base. "All forces, gather at the mobile base! Karen, proceed to sector E-1 and follow the instructions I'm sending now," he ordered, pushing at a few buttons as he watched carefully to plot out a route to avoid the advancing Britannians.

"They're coming too close!" Ogi complained, but Lelouch had already addressed that. He pulled a detonator from his side, pressing down on the button and laughing gleefully as a fissure was created to divide the Black Knights from the Britannians. Some Britannian troops were caught in the creating divide and subsequently routed, but for the most part it did no more than to create a single route for the Britannians to take to eliminate the Black Knights. And with the advantage still being their's, they certainly would, Lelouch thought.

"Karen, how close are you?" Lelouch asked impatiently as he saw his allies come into view, some pulling damaged Knightmare Frames and placing them off to the side. He ignored that and proceeded to return to the mobile base, pulling his mask over his head again before shutting down the Frame. He opened the cockpit and he and C.C. made for the hanger floor, C.C. disappearing into the shadows once more and Lelouch making for the control room where Henry was waiting.

"Zero," Henry acknowledged with a nod as Lelouch strode in. Lelouch nodded in kind as he made for the front and flipped some switches, turning on the communications. "Didn't you say the King should move so they will follow?" Henry asked, brows furrowed in amusement. Lelouch glared back at him through the mask, but thought better of responding to the cocky remark.

"Karen," Lelouch spoke in the direction of the front of the mobile base.

"Yes?"

"Find the open pipeline, and fire the Fukushahado into it," he ordered, flipping a switch to turn the communications off immediately afterward. He turned to Henry again, removing his mask to reveal a wide grin. "And that's checkmate."

o--o

Clovis sat in a large seat before the very same large table he'd been at when Lelouch had handed him his last defeat, and he couldn't deny the waves of remembrance assaulting him ruthlessly. Those around the table found themselves constantly deep in thought in order to keep up with Zero, but nothing they did seemed to put the masked terrorist on the defensive. And with the most recent development - a fissure that effectively removed many of their possible routes, leaving only two or three. Was this a stroke of luck? Or was it planned on Zero's part? They constantly had to ask themselves this, and none could deny the growing fear of fighting such a foe.

"Your Highness, your orders?" one of the men asked impatiently. Clovis flinched at the considerable amount of disdain lacing his words, but dared not speak of it.

"Zero is after something in this conflict, and he won't pull back without getting it. Have all forces occupy the open paths and await their next charge. We'll use their own trick against them," Clovis ordered. It was after the order had been given that he noticed the lone signal moving farther away from the rest. "Colonel, what's that unit there doing?" he asked suspiciously, pointing to Karen's signal.

"That's..." before he could make any move to investigate, however, it stopped moving entirely. "What's going..." and then, signals began being lost all along the three open paths. All witnessing the repeat of the Shinjuku incident were in wide-eye'd shock as they watched, and in the aftermath less than ten lucky signals hadn't been lost. "What was that?!" the Colonel cried, hastening to bring up information on the rogue signal that seemed to be the cause of the massacre. After a moment a picture of the Guren Nishiki came into view, right arm pressed on a pipe with a read light emitting from it's hand. "A radiation wave?! Did they plant explosives...?"

"Reports coming in from the survivors saying they found explosives along the pipeline's route! They're requesting reinforcements!" someone else cried from the opposite side of the mobile base.

Clovis, not willing to be silent any longer, slammed his fist down on the table. "Deploy all remaining units! Have the remnants fall back to sector C-4 and rendezvous with the reinforcements! We won't be made fools of by these terrorists!"

o--o

"Everyone follow Karen's lead! Wipe them out! We won't be defeated by these Britannians! For Japan!" Lelouch cried enthusiastically, watching his own table as all his units began rushing to the attack. Signals began being lost almost immediately, confirming Lelouch's hopeful suspicion that even the scattered remnants of his strategy would be damaged to the point of being almost inoperable. Apparently Clovis hadn't picked up on that, as all remaining units moved to a place that served little purpose other than to rendezvous.

Karen reached the Britannian line first, firing her Slash Harken through one Sutherland and opening fire on two others. The Britannian line parted in sheer terror as she passed through, using an effective mix of her Slash Harken, rapid fire gun and Fukushahado to demolish Sutherlands effortlessly. Allied Sutherlands provided support here and there, but any stray onlooker couldn't deny that it was Karen that almost single-handedly decimated the Britannian forces.

Lelouch watched the signals being lost with increasing glee, and there were more than a few chuckles shared between Henry and himself as they watched. The Guren Nishiki had surpassed every one of their expectations, clearly. "This will remove Clovis for sure," Lelouch said gleefully at some point during the chaos, grinning like an idiot.

Henry looked over at him confusedly, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Why do you want Clovis removed from his position? It's almost as if you care about his life."

"Vi Britannia," Lelouch answered in a more than slightly roundabout way.

"What?"

"My name," Lelouch clarified. "It's Lelouch Vi Britannia. Clovis La Britannia is my half-brother," Lelouch explained. As he looked over, he noticed it was Henry's turn to grin like an idiot. "Hmm?"

"What twisted irony is this? A prince of the Britannian empire rebelling against it, fighting his own father! That explains why you're so adamant about their ideals being wrong," Henry said coolly, clapping his hands gleefully.

"My mother was assassinated when I was ten. My father did nothing because he considered her weak. That contributes in no small part to my opinion," Lelouch went on, eyes returning to the table as Britannian forces began to pull back. He turned around and flipped the switch to turn on the communications again, leaning over, "All forces, pull back to the mobile base. Gather any wounded and carry them. We're done here."

o--o

Clovis stood alone in the now darkened mobile base, slamming a hand down angrilly on the table. Twice now had his little brother made a fool of him, and now Lelouch was going to be made the most wanted man in Area 11. Worse, Clovis was sure he'd be facing concequences for this. Would he lose his position? His life, perhaps? Then it hit him, like a brick to the side of the head, minus the throbbing pain. "Lelouch... is this what you wanted me to see? The cruelty of our... father...?" he asked himself quietly, pondering.

"Lelouch?" Clovis promptly gasped and whipped around to come face to face with Euphemia, smiling comfortingly at her defeated brother. "You said Lelouch... right? Is he alive? And Nunnally?"

"They're alive," Clovis deadpanned, silently praying all she'd picked up was the name and not what else he'd said.

The gods saw fit to grant this one miracle, as Euphemia clapped her hands and nearly squealed in her delight. "Lelouch and Nunnally are alive?! Why didn't you tell us?!" despite the demanding tone, Euphemia couldn't hold back the delight in her words. And despite how grim the situation was for him, Clovis chuckled. Chuckled in a way he only did when he and Lelouch spoke, he realized.

"He asked me not to," Clovis replied, his amusement replaced with hesitation. "He and Nunnally are living lives as normal students in Area 11, and Lelouch knew he'd be pressured to return to court if they knew he lived. It was better for their future that he feign his death and hide with the Ashfords," he went on to explain, thoughts of that same brother being a masked terrorist far from his mind at that moment.

"Then are they going to Ashford Academy? Like Suzaku?" Euphemia asked eagerly, eyes wide with wonder.

"Yes."

--

And we'll stop there for now. I was considering to stop just before the battle began, as it was a better ending than this one is, but I have plans for the next chapter that would have to be put off if I delayed the battle any further. The next few chapters will be centered around political stuff and deception, much of which with Lelouch involved of course. I'm not sure how my current plot will carry out, but we'll see how things go from here. And lastly, you can expect more from Lelouch's caring side in chapters to come. Until then!


	5. Of Deceit and Heartfelt Reunions

This chapter is likely going to be pretty bad. I can't bring myself to have a consistent interest in writing boring scenes (and as necessary as they are, the contents of this chapter do fall under such a category in my opinion), and you may notice that difference (I write better when I'm interested; who doesn't?) far more in this chapter than you have in the past. All the same, what I am interested in seeing is what you guys think of where the story will be going from here. And to the masses who (like me) thought there was considerably less fighting than what was expected in Code Geass (at least in season one; R2 certainly has it's nice fill), there will be some later on this chapter, though it'll be very little. And of course, first comes the boring drawling, as is to be expected. Even so, we will be seeing little conflict for a while - I'm looking to delve into the more political and Lelouch-centric side of things for a while.

Also, I realize I said at the beginning of last chapter that it would include 8 as well. And to some extent it did, but it was definitely devoid of any hotel hostage situations. There was a reason for that, and yes that (regardless of how different it is) will be here instead. I could have easily lengthened last chapter (the ending wasn't getting any worse ) to include it, but thought better of it as I have decided to make it a more serious event rather than being a situation used to introduce the Order of the Black Knights to the world.

To FraserMage. It isn't so much that he's a better pilot, although I do suppose he was better than he is meant to be in the last chapter, but rather that he wasn't exactly in a situation where his sub-par piloting is noticeable. But you did make a good point, and I'll be careful of that in the future. And while we're on the topic, Lelouch's ineptitude at piloting is something that should have been addressed in Code Geass. And so, I will be addressing this in the future. I can't say what exactly will be achieved, but we'll see when we get to that bridge. Because yes, being a more successful leader (which he naturally would be if he could fight to any degree of success) is in fact more important than an overused physical ineptitude joke.

And to Tpolich, C.C. was always out of sight (I pointed that out to some extent). She was never seen by anyone except Lelouch (one could technically say that someone could have seen her when they were getting ready in the hanger, but with their focus being on Zero the likelihood isn't high - and nonexistent in this instance, dispute if you wish. And everyone else, thank you for your continued feedback. This is the first time I've said it, but I do in fact take a lot of your opinions into account. After all, I'm not perfect. So your opinion on how you want to see things go is welcomed, and I have no qualms over making small changes to my vision if I like an idea.

And lastly, that good 'ole disclaimer. I don't own Code Geass or the vast majority of this story's characters. I recall saying that I wouldn't be repeating this, but saying it every few chapters probably couldn't hurt.

--

_Everything was going smoothly, given how rocky a start the rebellion was. Going into battle with a united army of terrorists was a risky move, but it pulled through in the end. And with that success, the conditions for the true beginning of my rebellion had been cleared. Knightmare Frame stocking was not an issue, with a mix of Sutherlands and Gloucesters coming in consistently from Henry. Furthermore, we'd secured an agreement to get aid from the Kyoto House, taking Kaguya Sumeragi into our personal ranks and being blessed with an income of Japanese Knightmare Frames. Burai weren't the most overwhelming Knightmare Frames out there, but the more radical amongst the Black Knights had the option of piloting a Frame from their homeland if they were so vain as to care. So long as their ideals met with my own, I was fine obliging to their vain demands._

_But being the organization we were, operating was rather difficult. Maintaining public support among both Japanese and Britannians alike, as was my goal, meant only engaging the enemy if they began the conflict, and Britannia had made no new moves as of yet. It was a stupid proposition to fight with such defense-only ideals, if only for now, but it was also necessary to continue gathering support. And the delay was reasonable, with them having to take care of Clovis' repeated failures and Cornelia's more-than-obvious promotion, but it left me doing little more than counting stock as our supply of Knightmare Frames continued to pile. We had far more than we needed, but at least we had replacements - many replacements, in fact - in case things went downhill and we lost a few Frames here and there... not that my pride would allow that to so easily be the case, of course. The only other issue was that room in the mobile base quickly filled, and within three days of the battle at Saitama I'd been forced to use Geass and Henry's influence to secure two more mobile bases._

_And support for the Black Knights amongst civilians was tremendous. It almost felt like we were a military, with us getting the odd group of civilians wanting to enlist into the Black Knights. I'd been strongly opposed to it for many reasons, with their questionable use on the battlefield or for anything else being one of them, but popular vote led to me naming Tamaki the Recruit Trainer of the Black Knights, much to his delight. I suppose he was simply pleased to have a unique job in the Order; he seemed the type to pointlessly care for such things. I placed another terrorist by the name of Ichitaka Chosokabe - who claimed to be a descendant of Motochika Chosokabe - in Tamaki's place in Squad B, which led to a huge feud over rankings. I finally surrendered to their demands and appointed people according to my own assessments, and nobody made any objections. None except for my refusal to appoint someone to the jobs of diplomacy or funds manager. But I couldn't tell them that I had saved those roles for C.C. and Henry, respectively, could I?_

_Black Knight matters aside, things were reasonably normal at school. I had explained my connections to Clovis to Suzaku and questioned him on why he hadn't been fighting in Saitama, and he revealed that his chain of command left him getting the short end of the stick for being an Eleven. It was tragic, to an extent, but that helped me plan considerably. And though it had been hard, I managed to devise a plan that C.C. dubbed the Anti-Lancelot Plot. Where her sense of originality came from, I dared not ask. But it was fitting, and conditions toward taking care of the Lancelot were quickly being met. All things considered, there was nothing wrong with how things were going as Lelouch or Zero._

_Except one, that is. Much like the green haired beauty rumors, now frequent rumors of having seen a beauty with pink hair began spreading like wildfire. She was described to be no older than anyone else at the academy, perhaps younger even, and she seemed to be searching for someone. Some people used this as pointless drabble while others spun it into their latest ghost story. It was a rather innocent occurrence, as widespread as it was, but certain people knew better. Suzaku and I especially, much to my surprise in Suzaku's case, because only one person could fit such a profile in our minds._

_Euphemia._

o--o

Ashford Academy's grounds were a bewildering place for the directionless. And for a naive princess who's sense of direction had recently led her to nearly crush poor Suzaku, how much worse could such a place be? Most people would give some kind of a playful answer taking pot shots at her sense of direction. The sad part was, Euphemia, mused, most of those pot shots would be true in at least some sense.

Wandering aimlessly - or rather, with an aim but no direction sense - through the academy's gardens and various other attractions of outstanding beauty, Euphemia decided that to say such pot shots were only somewhat true was a bit of an understatement. That may have been because she had been wandering for the past two hours, or it may have been because she was no longer entirely sure if she was on the academy's grounds. She wasn't quite certain which was the cause for that decision, but the easy answer could have been that both played their part.

All these thoughts, of course, were shot to the deepest recesses of her mind the moment a bell signaling the academy's lunch break reverberated across the field, finally renewing some sense of direction in the disoriented princess. Turning toward the heaven-sent sound, she proceeded enthusiastically toward the academy. The only thoughts that occupied her mind were those of what awaited her when she arrived at the academy. Would Lelouch be surprised? No, if Lelouch was the man she faintly remembered, he'd be expecting her eventual arrival. Never had she surprised him with anything. And this probably wouldn't be the first time she would.

o--o

"Euphemia just... disappeared?"

Cornelia looked at Clovis - who was now her subordinate, she added bitterly - like he had grown an extra head or two. It wasn't unheard of for Euphemia to go wandering, but that wasn't the source of her quickly building panic. Euphemia wandering meant Euphemia had no guide, and no guide meant it could be days before she reached some form of civilization in an absolute worst case scenario. And worse yet, Cornelia did in fact have proof of such a possibility.

"That's right," Clovis confirmed sadly, slouching in his seat. Cornelia groaned and smacked her hands down on the desk in front of her, crumpling the papers that lay spread across it inadvertently. "If it helps, though, I know where she went..."

"Where?" Cornelia asked in a demanding tone, glaring daggers at her younger sibling.

"Ashford Academy."

"Ashford Academy? Isn't that a Britannian academy here in the Tokyo settlement?" Cornelia asked incredulously, thoroughly confused by the remark.

"There's a reason she'd go there," Clovis replied, all the while debating whether or not to inform his sister of the truth. He still had his promise to uphold to Lelouch, but he'd already broken that promise to some extent. Moreover, if he said nothing, Euphemia certainly would later. And all this summed up to one thing: Lelouch would likely be pressured to return to court. And how would Lelouch take that? Would he kindly decline? Would it forge a larger rift between the two? Clovis could only speculate, but it went without saying, he realized grimly, that hiding the truth from Cornelia was pointless. "Lelouch and Nunnally are alive, and are enrolled there," he subsequently added.

He was being dragged out the door by Cornelia before he could so much as blink.

o--o

The school had long since come into view for the direction-less princess, nearly having been led astray despite the repeated signals she received as to the direction she should go, ranging from another bell at the end of the break to students hastening to return to the school. One would think her sense of direction would be better, seeing as this was try number three at finding her thought-dead siblings, but people with such thoughts in mind clearly hadn't met her.

She now proceeded through the school's courtyard with the school being right in front of her, ignoring the glances she was getting from the students. Some in some perverse form of admiration, others in confusion, and others that seemed to recognize her. None had approached her, much to her luck, which meant they hadn't identified her as their princess. But clearly rumors of her were spreading, if the murmurs clearly about her as people passed by were any indication.

"Should a princess be wandering around the school grounds so freely?" there went the notion of her not having been recognized. She turned slowly toward the origin of those dreadful words, only to be greeted with Lelouch. She reasoned that it could just as easily not be him, seeing as she hadn't seen him in seven years and thus had no idea what he might look like now, but features like his remained reasonably similar no matter how much time passed. Or so she hoped.

"L-lelouch!" she stuttered, trying as best she could to gather her thoughts. She had devised plenty of scenarios as to how this should have gone, but they all seemed to escape her mind the moment she actually caught sight of him. He stared her down in much the same way she did him, taking in the obvious changes seven years had brought. He smiled warmly as he did so, to the point where she either overlooked or completely failed to notice the analyzing eyes of her older half-brother.

"It's been a while, Euphemia," he replied as he finished his perverse thought-free inspection of his half-sibling, locking eyes with her. His stunning violet eyes hadn't changed at all, at least. And that was when she placed him into a bone crushing hug, eliciting numerous gasps of pain from the poor recipient before, after what seemed like an eternity, she drew away. Lelouch chuckled and looked around for a moment, making sure nobody was still around before continuing.

"How is... Cornelia?" he asked hesitantly. Sure, he'd spoken to her recently, but on the battlefield she was as cold hearted as Schneizel was during diplomatic times, and he was an emotionless terrorist. And that boded ill for any hope of discerning how she truly felt, they both knew. Not that Euphemia was anything but blissfully ignorant of what it was Lelouch was doing - or so he direly hoped - of course.

"Cornelia is well. She's pretty stressed out because of this Zero..." realizing she had crossed over the line of what she could and couldn't say to non-military personnel, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oops," she said sheepishly, and then they both broke into laughter. Thoughts of the many questions they had to ask of each other were discarded for the moment, both more than content to relish in the peaceful times they spent together in their youth. For being parted from one another for seven years, such a thing was reasonable, they thought.

o--o

"Nunnally!"

"Euphemia _Nee-sama_!"

Lelouch stood against the wall nearest the door to his room, smiling warmly at the reunion between siblings. It had taken some work, but he managed to get Nunnally to skip school for the afternoon without revealing why. And now they found themselves back home, sharing a long overdue reunion that warmed Lelouch's heart. Which was a rare thing, he admitted sadly. "This is heartwarming," Lelouch turned to see C.C. standing by the open door to his room, watching the same scene unfold.

"I had Schneizel convince Charles to disinherit Nunnally before we were sent here, to save her from the possibility of them wanting her to return. The chance is still there, but legitimacy's sake would make them prioritize me," he explained, although he had the slight feeling C.C. already knew. But how could she? Pushing the thought aside, he continued, "Euphemia could be subject to the same risk if this were discovered," C.C. now glanced over at Lelouch, lips curved ever so slightly into a small smile. Lelouch had replaced his warm smile with a frown as what he'd said lingered in his mind, but C.C. didn't seem to care too much.

"That's not comforting at all," C.C. started quietly, amusement lacing her words. Her presence had gone without notice on Euphemia's part, though Nunnally's superior hearing - a byproduct of her lack of sight - alerted her of C.C.'s arrival, although she was much too indulged in the meeting of her half-sister to take any outward notice of it. "It's been a long time since Nunnally has had comfort like this, right? Even if it risks Euphemia's safety, you were willing if it was for Nunnally, weren't you?"

"I can't help the fact that Nunnally has been being put off to the side more and more lately. The least I could do is this, when Zero is between her and I," Lelouch explained in a hardly audible whisper. All the while the two half-sisters embraced gleefully, chattering on about things Lelouch would have to strain himself to hear amongst all the other things they said, much less understand them.

"You mean you're between the two of you," C.C. corrected, smirking slightly.

"...I guess so."

Lelouch walked over and pried the two siblings apart - which proved nearly too much for his underwhelming physical capabilities. "Euphemia, it's not wise for you to stay much longer, is it? If they found out..."

"...I'd be disinherited. I know. You are still technically political hostages, after all," Euphemia finished, visibly saddened.

"Yes, that's right. The country may now belong to Britannia, but Nunnally and I belong to Japan now," Lelouch had to fight off the laugh that threatened to break free as he spoke of such ironic things. They belonged to Japan, and here he was - the exiled Britannian prince masquerading as the most wanted terrorist against that very same empire, aiding the restoration of the country he technically belonged to still.

Nunnally was the only one not disheartened by this fact, "Sister, let's all get together! Brother Schneizel, Cornelia, brother Clovis..." the list went on and on, listing even the most distant of relatives, such as Castor and Polux. Lelouch continued to listen somewhat intently, while Euphemia had long since given up comprehending all of the joyous prattling. C.C. disappeared back into Lelouch's room. Collapsing onto her bed, she pulled Cheese-kun - whom she'd gotten after no small amount of trouble - close to her, hugging it tightly as she went to sleep.

o--o

_I actually dreamed that night. I dreamed of an ideal world, where everything was nothing short of perfect, though it deserved far more praise than that. We were drinking tea in the garden I spent so much time in as a child. All of us: Nunnally, Euphemia, Schneizel, Cornelia, Odysseus and I all sat around a white table, drinking tea and laughing merrily. Polux and Castor were off to the side, laughing amongst one another as they usually did; they typically only confided in themselves and shut the rest of us out. C.C. was there too, smiling in a way I'd never seen as she stood behind me with both hands pressed against my shoulders, watching the group of happy siblings like she couldn't remember such a joyous scene. She probably couldn't, I reminded myself grimly._

_Suzaku was off to the side, looking hardly any different than a bodyguard. But if you looked closely, the tell-tale signs of glee that were on all of our faces was on his as well. The student council members - Shirley, Milly and Rivalz - all sat near him, Arthur sitting in Rivalz's lap before bounding over to Suzaku and biting his finger. We all looked over to him in shock as he yelped in pain, but laughing once more reigned just as quickly. In short, it was the perfect paradise._

_And then it happened. Cries for help filled the air all around us as Knightmare Frames seemed to descend from the sky. They fired at any and everything they saw, but their target seemed rather particular: our paradise. Questions of why and how this was happening were not foremost in my mind at the time, but rather a complete understanding washed over me as I watched the quickly-turning-apocalyptic scenario. This was some sign for the future, I thought skeptically. And that theory was given more ground as, when I got a closer look, I saw who led them: Zero._

o--o

"Zero!" Lelouch cried out in desperation as he awoke, sitting upright with a jerk and gasping as he held a hand to his head in a vain attempt to stop the profuse sweating that nightmare had brought on. It was just a dream though, wasn't it? Why did it hit him so hard? Try as he might to reason with himself - to tell himself that it was a dream and nothing more and that the dream meant nothing - he always came to the same depressing thought: what if it was a premonition of things to come?

"Zero?" Lelouch turned to face C.C., sitting upright in her bed with Cheese-kun hugged tightly against her and head tilted to the side inquisitively as she stared at him. "Everything alright?" did he just hear her wrong? Lelouch considered slapping himself a couple times to make sure, but thought better of such a childish action to confirm being awake. But had C.C. - the witch who couldn't care less about her partner - really asked if he was... alright? Lelouch was bewildered, to say the least.

"I'm fine," he replied sharply, wiping away newly forming beads of sweat on his brow. C.C. scoffed at his childishness, which earned her another non-threatening glare from Lelouch, bringing the number of glares she'd received into numbers that could no longer be counted on even both hands together. "It was a nightmare. Nothing more."

"The great Zero has nightmares? Of... Zero?" C.C. seemed more amused than concerned now, Lelouch noticed, and that bugged him no less than any of her other half-hearted actions.

Lelouch rose from his bed, proceeding to gather his school uniform and other clothing before making toward the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Unconcerned with her partner's anger C.C. followed, seating herself atop the counter and swinging her legs absent-mindedly as she tuned out the many curses and enraged cries Lelouch let out. "Do you mind?" were the first fully coherent words out of his mouth, however.

"Not at all," C.C. replied with a smirk, relishing in her own form of payback. "Continue," she urged, not in the least off-put by walking the path of the pervert. After all, such a path could only be walked by a person with such intent, right? And seeing his likely unimpressive body wasn't her goal in the least, she reasoned definitively. That meant that what she was doing was, well... walking the path of the pervert, without being a pervert, she decided. Pity few people saw the logic in such wisdom. And Lelouch was no different.

And so he gaped at her disbelievingly, as if urging her to break out into a fit of laughter and declare that she was kidding - as uncharacteristic as that would be. But all he was regarded with was a stoic expression that showed no signs of playful intent. At least, no jokingly playful intent. Realization thus coming into full focus, Lelouch - half naked as he was - resumed his torent of curses while grabbing her by the waist and pushing her out of the room. "Out, out, out," he urged, pushing harder still when she childishly placed her hands on either side of the door's frame and held fast, and despite Lelouch's best efforts she would not be moved. "What do you want?" he asked impatiently.

"I'm intrigued," the witch remarked dryly.

"Intrigued?"

"You're embarrassed to let me see you. I didn't think you even saw me as a woman."

"It's obvious you're a woman, witch."

"There's a difference between being a woman and being seen as one, boy."

"Whatever," giving up to the unending game of logic between the two, Lelouch turned to resume undressing, no longer concerned with her presence. Chuckling to herself, C.C. bound over to her bed and leaped into it, much to Lelouch's annoyance. Not anything he wasn't used to, naturally, as he looked out the bathroom door to the witch laying sprawled across her bed, a small smile on her face as she hugged Cheese-kun to herself once more. Smiling ever so slightly at the sight, Lelouch tried for the third time to get through the morning routine C.C. often disrupted.

o--o

Cornelia sat in her office once more, fuming with unexpressed rage at her cowering sibling. Not only had Euphemia seen the siblings so many hated Area 11 for supposedly taking from them while she had not, but she'd been subjected to that... unsightly fanaticism! "_It's Her Highness Cornelia-sama!_" boy and girl alike cried in delight. Bah! Why did she have to be subjected to such things? It was at times like those, she mused, that she envied the lives of the normal generals of the empire. They indulged in the same things she did, but they didn't have to hear such things! She had no use for the throne either, really, so what use had she for the name Cornelia Li Britannia? It was overrated, she thought.

"Sister..." Euphemia started pleadingly, eyes brimming with unshed tears as of yet. Her eyes stung ever so slightly from holding back said tears, and it was becoming harder and harder to do so. Even as Cornelia's closest sibling, to some extent she feared her sister's wrath no less than anyone else did. "I'm sorry! But Clovis told me where they were, and I had to see them again...!"

"It's alright, Euphemia. I understand," Cornelia replied quickly, despite her inner anger.

"But... Nunnally said we should all get together! Schneizel, Clovis, Odysseus, Castor and Polux too! Just like old times, right sister?"

Cornelia was a little taken aback by this. Wouldn't Lelouch - if he were still the same protective brother she remembered - be opposed to allowing Nunnally to be pressured with returning to Britannia? And what of himself? He clearly had no intentions of returning, else he would have revealed himself long before. Which meant, there was something they didn't know. And regardless of what it was, she was determined to find out what it was. And so she smiled slightly, speaking slowly, "Let's do that."

o--o

"So, what do you have planned for the get-together, Zero?" Henry asked, clearly amused by the prospect. "I assume you have no intention of going simply out of the kindness of your heart. Or not for that reason alone, anyway. You've been in secret too long to reveal yourself for no reason," Lelouch chuckled and looked up from his latest report at the screen in front of him, amused by his comrade's inquisitiveness.

"Of course not. Karen still suspects me, so this will double as a good method to get her off of me."

"By revealing yourself to the press as Lelouch Vi Britannia? She wouldn't pursue you, knowing your royalty."

"No, I'm not going public. I refuse to be known by Charles' name," Lelouch shot back sharply, somewhat insulted.

"Calm down," C.C. soothed quietly from the darkness, out of Henry's view and out of his range of hearing. "You can't lose control of your emotions so easily. You said yourself; they're a burden as a leader."

"So, what's your master plan?" Henry asked, curious. He hated being unaware of what Lelouch planned, but his curiosity overcame his annoyance of coming second in this instance. "It had better be nice and flashy. I wouldn't expect less of Zero."

"Your report details the fact that those I judged unworthy have banded together, correct? As per my previous prediction?"

"That's right."

"Secretly provide them with a small supply of Knightmare Frames."

"Say what? ...Ah, they'll grow bold and try to prove themselves by attacking Britannia. At which point, the Order of the Black Knights will arrive and save the day, delivering their ultimatum to the world over while looking like the heroes, correct?"

"Exactly," Lelouch confirmed, smirking. "Anyway, back to the report. What is this of a prototype Lancelot being built from it's spare parts?"

"Just that. They're calling it the Z-01 Lancelot Club. Virtually the same in most aspects, it supports a MVS lance-like weapon rather than a sword along with a new color scheme. Otherwise, it is no different than the original," Henry explained.

"See if your supporters can't get the schematics for that. If we could acquire the schematics and the resources, such technology could put our Frame development capabilities nearly on par with Britannia, could it not?" Lelouch grinned widely, already wracking his mind over the possibilities of carrying out his rebellion with such firepower.

"You know nothing of building Knightmare Frames, however. What do you have planned to remedy that?"

"Diethard has already contacted the person that headed the development of the Guren Type-02, and she has agreed to join and assist the Black Knights," Lelouch responded, still reading over the report. Mostly things regarding changes to the JBU's numbers and new spec changes Henry could make to existing Frames in Lelouch's possession; nothing worth more than a passing glance, really. All the same, these small details kept Lelouch constantly shifting plans here and there accordingly.

o--o

"Haruma, Sir, you're certain we can trust the person who sent us these Frames?"

"Yeah, what if he's in league with Britannia or something? We could be walking right into their trap!"

"Worse, what if he's in league with Zero? This could all be predicted by Zero, and he could be waiting for us to act at this very moment!"

Haruma Chibasaki, the appointed leader of this - dare he say - terrorist group, sighed heavily. There was so little unity amongst them that it could hardly even be called a terrorist group. Each and every occupant of the large Yasukuni Shrine had only one thing in common - nationality aside, of course - and that was the desire to prove themselves to both the people of _Japan_ and to Zero. No, they wouldn't work with Zero no matter what happened. Not at this point, after having been made fools of by him. But they refused to sit by and allow him to judge them as people unworthy of his notice. Haruma felt his blood boiling as he recalled that.

"Shut up! Everyone, get your Burais ready. We're taking Britannia down a peg, and we're doing it today! For Japan!" cheers replaced skeptical remarks as all hastened to prepare for passing their own judgment, and each and every Burai was ready and deployed into the underground within a short three minutes. Haruma himself lead the pack, determined to show Zero just what the radicals of Japanese terrorism was capable of.

o--o

Clovis sat at a far off table in the large ballroom-like room that had been prepared at the Viceroy's Palace, watching the rest of his siblings with a small smile on his face. It was hard to manage even that much, sadly, but such was the turmoil he still felt within him. Could he really believe in their father anymore? Was Lelouch - no, Zero, because Zero was not the Lelouch he knew - right? Was Charles Di Britannia as horrible a person as he had suggested? But even so, what made being a treasonous supporter of the Black Knights any better an option for Clovis? Sure, the possibility of changing the world was there, but at what cost?

"Brother Clovis... brother?" Euphemia waved a hand in front of her brother's face, searching for any response. Clovis broke from his musings and smiled up at her, shaking his head at her unasked question. Euphemia nodded and skipped away, humming happily - far happier than she'd been of late, Clovis realized. She returned a moment later, holding a drink for the both of them. Clovis muttered a distracted thanks and took his, taking back the entire contents of his glass in one sip. Euphemia looked at him curiously, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're alright, brother?"

"I'm fine."

"You're sure? If it's about Lelouch or Nunnally, it's --"

"Your Highness Clovis, Your Highness Euphemia," a servant greeted, bowing as she approached. "His Highness Lelouch and Lady Nunnally have arrived."

Lelouch stepped out of the limousine that had been provided for them, making his way to the back to lower Nunnally's wheelchair out and then to the side to lift Nunnally into it. The younger Lamperouge sibling prattled on about how great the reunion would be, and Lelouch listened intently and responded with sweet words in kind. He had his cell phone in the breast pocket of his suit, and had provided C.C. with a second cell phone and his number, with instructions to call at intervals. Having her masquerade as Zero allowed him this freedom, and he intended to make this night all about him and his siblings. Even if there were a few 'planned distractions'.

"Lelouch! Nunnally!" Lelouch perked up, catching sight of a man walking swiftly toward them. He was dressed quite regally, considering the lack of formality that was supposed to be present, and the stubble on his chin had been properly tended to in order to make it look as refined as the rest of his appearance. Such was the preference of appearance that the first prince, Odysseus U Britannia, took regardless of his surroundings. Lelouch had never particularly liked his eldest sibling, primarily due to the fact that he was indecisive and nothing short of a coward by comparison to his more notable siblings - such as Cornelia and Schneizel - but he was more than willing to put on an air of kindness for reunion's sake... for now.

"Odysseus _Nii-sama_!" Nunnally greeted gleefully, and Lelouch just nodded his greeting to his elder brother. Odysseus was taken aback by the lack of enthusiasm on the young prince's part, and failed to register in his mind that Lelouch was really no different in his childhood. All the same he nodded to the younger prince, turning on his heel and falling into step with Lelouch. He snuck glances over at Lelouch and Nunnally every now and then, unable to fully come to terms with just how much they'd changed in their long absence, but he never let anyone else notice his glances.

"Where's Guinevere, Odysseus?" Lelouch asked suddenly, glancing up at his brother. "Still living in the luxuries of the royal palace, carefree of what happens beyond it, I assume?" there was a hint of mocking intent lacing Lelouch's words, but Odysseus failed to notice it. Lelouch chuckled and scratched at the back of his head sheepishly, feigning some childish innocence that Odysseus was quickly falling prey to.

"Yes, she's back in Britannia. But shouldn't you be more respectful to your siblings, Lelouch?" Lelouch turned his head toward the approaching figure of Cornelia, Clovis and Euphemia on either side of her. Lelouch couldn't help the skeptical look that crossed his face. "What? Expecting a more heartfelt moment from me, Lelouch? You should know better," Euphemia and Lelouch both chuckled at that, while Nunnally seemed slightly dejected.

"You're... not happy to see us, Cornelia?" Nunnally asked carefully, and were it not for the closed eyes one could expect to see tears beginning to form.

"Of course I am," Cornelia soothed, smiling warmly as she dropped to her knees, eyes level with Nunnally's own. "I can't begin to express how happy I am to know you two didn't die during the Second Pacific War, Nunnally. Really," she leaned in, planting a small kiss on Nunnally's cheek before standing up. Lelouch stepped away from Nunnally's wheelchair and was pulled into a small hug by Cornelia, "You too, Lelouch."

Lelouch smiled warmly in kind, "And I you, Cornelia. Now, may we proceed inside?" Cornelia nodded, and the group of siblings made for the ballroom. Lelouch took a seat off to the side next to Clovis, leaving Nunnally near the center where she was assaulted by near endless torrents of people - servants, Knights, and siblings alike - demanding to know what had happened the past seven years. "Where's Schneizel?" Lelouch asked, turning his head to face Clovis.

"He couldn't make it. Told us to send his regards and that he'd come and meet with his siblings when he could," Clovis replied, dejected by the very words he spoke.

"That's like him, I suppose. He always has been pursuing the throne, so it's to be expected," Lelouch replied, chuckling. "And what of you? How is being second to Cornelia?"

"How did you..."

"Clovis," Lelouch now turned to face him fully, face emotionless. "I wanted you to see what our father is like, by defeating you at Saitama. Now tell me, can you honestly believe in Britannia still?"

"Lelouch..."

"Lelouch!" both brothers turned to see Euphemia skipping over. She placed both hands around one of Lelouch's, pulling him to his feet and pulling him away from his corner of solitude. "Come on! Be social! This get-together is for you and Nunnally!" Lelouch chuckled at her childish naivete and nodded, allowing himself to be pulled into the throng of people that awaited.

Clovis raised an eyebrow and chuckled before getting up and joining them. Nunnally was now engaged in some non-sensible talk with Villeta and Euphemia, who had since abandoned Lelouch, prattling on about life in Area 11 and the like. Most people seemed slightly off put by her calling the Elevens Japanese, but all knew better than to reprimand her for it. Lelouch watched the same scene unfold, waiting for the most opportune moment to casually disappear. When that chance arose, he grabbed Clovis' arm and tugged him along as well.

"Have the guards on duty at the ready," Lelouch said suddenly, as soon as they were out of the ballroom and safe of any wandering pairs of ears.

"What do you have planned, Lelouch?" Clovis asked bitterly.

"A terrorist group aiming to prove themselves to Zero is going to be attacking this place to prove their worth."

"...What?"

"Yes. The Black Knights are at the ready to protect the palace, but there's no guarantee they'll be fast enough. That's why we need to --" he was cut off by a loud crash followed by a mix of screeching landspinners and screaming guests, and both brothers rushed to inspect. As Lelouch had foretold, a Sutherland had broken into the palace, with many more outside. People were crying out in disbelief at seeing their own Frames used for such things, but Lelouch ignored it all as he took out his cell phone and raced through speed dial. "Order of the Black Knights, intervene."

o--o

C.C. received the order from within Lelouch's custom Gloucester with a grin on her face. Turning on her communications system and pressing play on the recorder Lelouch had provided her with, Zero's voice played from within, "Order of the Black Knights, charge!" it was straight and to the point, and C.C. chuckled to herself for a moment. Primarily due to the fact that Lelouch had no inspirational speech for attacking people of their own nationality, but after a moment's thought she realized that she didn't either.

Sutherlands, Gloucesters and Burais began pouring out of each of the mobile bases, carefully hidden in a hidden lair formed within Mount Kumotori, proceeding along quickly toward the Viceroy Palace. By Lelouch's estimation, there would be only two or three squadrons of Britannian Knightmare Frames on the site when they arrived, and strict orders were to ensure that the glory went to the Black Knights.

It only took twenty minutes before the quickly escalating conflict between Britannia and the terrorist group came into view. C.C. once again hit play on the recorder, allowing Zero's voice to erupt from it once more, "Karen, proceed into the palace and save the prisoners! Squad A is to ensure that the main exits are secured, and everyone else is to aid Britannia in wiping out the terrorists!"

Despite the inner turmoil that came with such an order, everyone hastened to obey. Ogi led his squad off course, giving orders here and there and dividing his squad to secure the two untouched exits as well as the one that had been made by the terrorists. Karen meanwhile made her way in, ignoring the cries pilots made about killing the prisoners, and forced them to eject before they could make good on their claims. As the last one was finished off, with her suffering some structural damage due to her blocking the subsequent explosion from reaching the prisoners, she reached one of the Guren Nishiki's hands out to take the hostages. And then she saw _him_, standing amongst the hostages and most certainly not in the Gloucester that was currently cleaving into an opposing Sutherland with it's MVS sword. "Lelouch..."

Lelouch smirked as he stepped onto the hand Karen had outstretched, making sure Nunnally was safely on as well. With him were Euphemia, Clovis and Jeremiah, the rest having opted to use other exits. The hand's grip on them tightened as Karen pulled back, following the route C.C. had provided her with on behalf of Lelouch to deliver the people to safety at Ashford Academy. C.C., meanwhile, was deadlocked with two Sutherlands, proving her superiority over the real Zero as she easily outmaneuvered both of them and left both terrorists ejecting. The situation was going completely as Lelouch anticipated, with the superior pilots and Frames at the Black Knights' disposal allowing them to all but decimate the terrorists. When all was said and done - which was only a short five minutes later - not one Frame had been lost.

--

And that's where we leave things off for now. The hostage situation was considerably different. But really, what hasn't been so far? More importantly, however, is the fact that I feel things are progressing rather quickly. As such, we probably won't see much happening for a while. Next chapter will be introducing Mao, I think, along with a character I've been interested in bringing into the picture for some time. I won't say who, but I did hint at who it is ever so briefly in this chapter. If you want to guess, be my guest.

Also, my apologies on the poor writing. I know I pointed out the possibility of it at the beginning, but I truly am disgusted with how the writing was. Particularly the battle and the reunion party, but in my defense I didn't intend to put much detail into the latter of the two anyway. All the same, I hope you accept my apology and believe me when I say I plan to fix this problem as we go.


	6. A Burden to Bear

Not much to say here, really, that wasn't said at the end of the last chapter. This fanfic will be getting a change from Adventure/Romance to Adventure/Drama until further notice, considering the fact that keeping it as it was seemed to be gradually getting further and further out of place as more and more chapters with no even slight hints at romance came along. On a totally unrelated and previously mentioned note, I'm planning to introduce Mao soon, as well as my secret (although if you look closely, it's not hard to figure out) character. As such, this chapter will be all talk no conflict, really. Also, it will be the first divergence from my overly long chapter routine. I'm looking at keeping this one and all succeeding chapters at about half the length of past ones (or even less, depending), once again for the sake of update frequency (and to cut back on my procrastination ). Don't take that to mean it'll be another disaster on part of my writing (perhaps slightly better, even, if all goes according to my hopeless vision), as I am overly interested in my little side project here. And while I won't delve into what I have planned, I will say this: Expect much (much unwanted, to some people) fluffiness for Lelouch and C.C. in chapters to come.

Also, I noticed and am quite interested in the fact that this fanfic has already achieved status amongst the top three longest of all Code Geass fanfics, and is quickly gaining ground on first place. I don't particularly care for pride's sake, but I am intrigued that I've had the drive to achieve such a thing. And so, I'd like to extend a huge thanks to all of you for egging me along with this, and giving me the drive to keep going. I doubt I'd have come so far otherwise (because let's face it, I have the long term interest of a... thing with no long term interest whatsoever ).

And so I'll give another thanks to my reviewers for good measure, as always, and we're ready to get going!

--

Lelouch sat at poolside facing the pool, one leg folded over the other and laptop securely held in his lap, tapping gently at the keyboard as he read through various reports he'd had sent in from different places. One was from the Kyoto house, detailing a new shipment of Burais and the long awaited development of some new Gekkas, and that the majority of the Kyoto house were in support of giving them to the Black Knights rather than to the Japanese Liberation Front. Which delighted Lelouch, to say the least, though he would never openly say so.

He closed up that particular folder, diving into one from Henry. He was slightly unnerved by the 'Urgent' written in size 36 font at the top of the report, and took his time reading this one. After all, for a duke Henry was quite the laid back man. And so, something even remotely urgent was serious. "_We succeeded at securing the schematics for the Lancelot Club, and plans are being made to include some of the Lancelot specs in newer Knightmare Frames. However, it seems Schneizel has caught on. The JBU and I are in hiding at present, and I am making arrangements to take refuge in India. I'll do what I can from there._" Lelouch read aloud, thanking Henry mentally for his quick thinking. This would do more good than harm in the long run.

"This will cut back on your supplies considerably, won't it?" C.C. remarked, head propped up on the edge of the pool, clad in a tight fitting blue school swimsuit. It was a little small on her, but Lelouch didn't particularly have the luxury of having one fit specifically for her. Not if he wanted to keep her identity secret from his friends for the time being, that is.

"Yes, but it's not a bad thing," Lelouch responded, closing the laptop. "We have more than enough supplies to have everyone in a Knightmare Frame, and we still have the Kyoto house. But India, being capable of making such things as the Guren Type-02, are a useful ally. And if Henry can work his way in, we'll have them funding us almost exclusively."

Lelouch stood up, placing the laptop on the nearby table, and yawned quietly as he stretched. He proceeded over to the men's showering facilities where several dozen towels lay either neatly folded or haphazardly tossed onto the pile, and grabbed one. By the time he'd returned to the pool C.C. was climbing out, and he carelessly tossed the towel over to her. "But relying on the Burais isn't favorable compared to using what Henry was supplying us with," she remarked, running the towel quickly over her arms and legs before placing it over her hair, allowing it to linger,

"It isn't, but firepower isn't an issue if the strategy is flawless," Lelouch shot back, picking up the laptop and placing it carefully beside his various seldom used notebooks that occupied his book bag.

"What of the Lancelot, then?" C.C. asked, smirking slightly.

"An irregularity, nothing more. We know how to deal with Suzaku, and can do so at any time."

The remainder of their trip back to his room was silent. While it would have been anyway, given the demand for stealth so as to maintain secrecy, this silence was far more companionable. As soon as they'd returned and explained their absence - with a lie to Sayoko, of course - they made for their room and both collapsed tiredly onto their respective beds. While C.C. cuddled up to Cheese-kun, Lelouch simply stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "C.C.?"

"What is it?"

"What will happen to me?" it was an innocent enough question, Lelouch reasoned, but it was one that every bit of his uncertainties were directed to. And it was a question only C.C. could answer, whether she chose to or not.

"I told you the concequences when we made our contract, Lelouch. The Power of the King is a lonely thing."

"...I suppose," he allowed his eyes to drift to a close ever so steadily. However, the response did nothing to alleviate the building worry within him. Be it the Geass or his rebellion, one of them was distancing himself from everyone bit by bit. Everyone except C.C. of course, who was the only one he could rely on when the world became his enemy. But would she be able to save him from the inevitable consequences he'd one day face? Moreover, would she be willing to?

o--o

Suzaku found himself working furiously on his homework yet again, having to sneak in sips of his drink and bites of his food - if Cecile's creations could be called such - only when he possibly could, his right hand never leaving the pen held within. Lloyd had found it more than amusing that the great pilot of the Lancelot had to do homework, but as of yet had made no attempt to stop the boy's ritual. Cecile was just more than happy to play the motherly figure, feeding Suzaku and assisting him with his work. Save for the fact that the student in question happened to be the pilot of the most feared Knightmare Frame in Area 11, it was no different than being a real mother.

"Okay, and..." Suzaku finally lifted his hand from the paper in front of him, stretching his fingers to fend off the quickly building cramp in his hand. "Done," he finished, sighing with relief as the strain on his hand gradually began to let up.

"Ah, Suzaku," Lloyd started, hardly looking up from the papers spread out haphazardly in front of him. "How is that boy you were talking about doing? The one that you thought died in Shinjuku."

"Oh, Lelouch..." Suzaku started, his voice sounding almost reminiscent in it's distant happiness. "He's good. Not the studious type despite how smart he is, though. Shirley says he could go far with that mind of his, but he doesn't use it wisely..."

"Lelouch?" Cecile asked. "That's his name?"

"Yeah. Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Don't you mean Vi Britannia, Suzaku?" Lloyd put in, grinning widely, still not giving more than a passing glance to Suzaku before resuming his previous task of reading through the various papers in front of him.

"How did you..."

"Princess Euphemia isn't good at keeping secrets," Cecile answered, smiling. "The majority of Britannia knows of the survival of it's exiled prince and his reunion with his siblings that took place a few nights ago by now," she explained, as if the news meant nothing to the quickly recoiling recipient.

"I see... will they be trying to get him to return, then?" Suzaku asked, hesitantly. He couldn't see his friend - the very friend who once swore Britannia's destruction - returning to Britannia. And should Lelouch make such a move, Suzaku had to wonder: just what would Lelouch have in mind?

Cecile reached over for her own sandwich, biting into it before speaking, "His Highness Prince Schneizel has expressed such a desire, yes. However, he's being met with strong resistance from His Highness Prince Clovis, who seems to believe such a move is unwise," Suzaku raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips in thought as that new piece of information sent him recoiling once more.

o--o

"Stop sleeping, man!" Lelouch nearly _squealed_ - much to the amusement of the rest of the student council - as his senses came to full alert and he just narrowly dodged a history textbook that instead slammed hard where his head had been resting in his folded arms just moments before. "Jeez, what is with you, Lelouch? You've always been so tired lately? You haven't been out playing games without me, have you?" Rivalz asked skeptically, narrowing his eyes.

"Something like that..." Lelouch yawned, carelessly rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he fought off the remnants of sleep that urged him to lay his head to rest once more. "Anyway, President," he turned toward Milly, "What have we got planned?"

"We've all got our jobs," Milly pointed out. "What we need is for you to cook, and secure two new members."

"...Why?" Lelouch asked, skepticism heavy in his voice.

"We can't exactly hold a school-wide ball with just the four of us on duty, can we? I want you to invite Kallen and Suzaku, since you seem to be acquainted with the both of them," Milly explained, smiling in such a way that came off as adorably sweet. To Lelouch, it came off as a "there is no room for negotiations" look that spelled immediate defeat. Checkmate in a single move, so to speak. "Alright?"

"I got it, President..." Lelouch sighed, standing up. As he made for the door, he turned his head over his shoulder, glaring ever so slightly, "I'll have them here within the hour."

Why he'd made that boastful claim, he couldn't recall. What he did know however, was that such a claim was idiotic at best and it now had him racing around the school in search of the two. And anyone who knew him even the slightest bit knew physical activity and him did not mix.

Suzaku would still be in the school, he knew, for whatever reason. He'd had a meeting or something earlier that day - excusing him from class early, inadvertently sparking Lelouch's envy in the process - so he had no outstanding things that needed doing, of course. Besides, the boy had seemed to want to speak to Lelouch about something, so this could potentially kill two birds with one stone. The problem, however, was Kallen. With her double life between Kallen Stadtfeld and Karen Kozuki, she was far less predictable. Finding her still on school grounds would be an unlikely thing.

His first stop was the cafeteria, having had the unintelligent - as few as they were - idea that Suzaku may have been there. Strike one. His next stop was the courtyard, which was never a bad place for just about anyone to go to unwind. Strike two. His last and only intelligent destination was the roof, where he found Suzaku standing, looking down at the ground far below. And the pitcher must have pulled a muscle, because Lelouch just struck a home run! "Ah, Lelouch," Suzaku said, slightly in a daze and not averting his gaze from where it rested.

"Suzaku! I came to ask you --"

"Return to Britannia with me, Lelouch," Suzaku cut him off, looking at his childhood friend so sternly that any distant hope of him joking was sent flying out the window.

"W-what? Suzaku, you can't be... this isn't the time for..." Lelouch tried, at an embarrassing loss for words.

"It won't be long until news of your prince-hood is known worldwide. You won't be safe if you stay here, Lelouch. So come with me! Back where you belong! In Britannia! And we can fight to catch Zero together!"

"Suzaku," Lelouch started, equally as stern, his previous goal forgotten entirely. "Are you where you truly belong? Can you honestly say with no doubt that you belong at the side of Britannia and not at Zero's side?"

"I..." Suzaku tried to reply, but found himself in the same position Lelouch had been in moments before. "I don't know. But Zero's methods are wrong, Lelouch. Illegal methods will not make a better world."

"And what is the better world you seek?"

"Lelouch... you almost sound like you support Zero..."

"The world needs to change. I won't lie; like many others, I have the small urge to believe in such a man," Lelouch couldn't say he hated his new life of never-ending lies more than right then, seeing the almost crushed look on Suzaku's face. But as always, his own needs came first, and so Suzaku was simply left on the receiving end this time. A small part of him wished he as masquerading as Zero at that moment, however. To be able to say such things without feeling anything. That is, until he realized how ridiculous the notion of using a mask to hide his feelings was.

"So you... want Britannia to fall...?"

"Not fall, no. I want to see Charles Di Britannia fall. To such an end, I believe Zero's means are justified."

There was a long silence that followed, and it was Lelouch who finally broke it, after several minutes, "Suzaku, what do you want? What is your dream? What is it that you seek?"

"I... I want to make the world better. But not through terrorism. From the inside. From within Britannia," Suzaku replied, determination slowly filling him. His eyes - which had previously taken to observing the ground out of desperation - locked with Lelouch's.

"And do you believe you can do that? Do you believe you can change Britannia?"

"I do."

"You're wrong. So long as the ideals of Charles Di Britannia remain, you'll fail."

"I can at least save the Japanese," Suzaku retorted, almost angrily.

"Is that your sense of justice, Suzaku? Save the Japanese, and leave all other numbers to suffer further? How are such selfish actions any better than using the wrong methods to help everyone?" Lelouch shot back quickly, glaring ever so slightly for the added emphasis.

"Then I can change his ideals from within!"

"You can't," Lelouch deadpanned. "Charles is a powerful man on his own. But he also has a power... a terrible one. One you couldn't possibly expect to exist."

"What are you talking about, Lelouch? And how do you know about this... power?" Suzaku questioned, once again on the defensive in his bewilderment.

"I can't tell you that. What I can tell you is that you can't defeat him. It would have to be done from the outside. And even then, the odds aren't much higher," Lelouch explained quietly.

"Lelouch..."

"I've said too much," Lelouch concluded, turning away. Which was a complete lie, he thought deviously. But the more doubt Suzaku had in his own ideals, the easier it would be for Zero to show him the error of his ways. "Milly wants me to ask you to join the student council. It may help you with your difficulty of being socially accepted, so it may do you good. Later, Suzaku."

Lelouch made his way through the school's halls once more, aiming to return to his home for some quick rest before he'd have to put up with more of the president's constant rantings. He'd spent far longer than intended in his search for Suzaku and by extension his talk with him, so he decided he'd have no shot at finding Kallen that day, which in turn told him there was no harm in a quick rest. He pulled out his cell phone, and sure enough he'd gotten a couple of text messages from Shirley, the last of which telling him to be back at the council room in an hour. As soon as he'd closed his cell phone it went off, though. Sighing to himself, he answered it.

"Yes?"

"Lelouch!" Henry's slightly exasperated voice shouted.

"Ah... yes? What is it?"

"You may want to get in touch with the Order. And soon," Henry said quickly.

"Why is that?" Lelouch asked, growing slightly annoyed. As little as he liked it, maintaining two lives meant that the Black Knights would have to be put on the back burner for the night.

"My operatives tell me Princess Cornelia is amassing a large force to wipe out the Japanese Liberation Front headquarters at Narita. She'll be attacking within the next couple days."

There went the possibility of putting the Black Knights on the back burner. This opportunity was the one he'd been waiting for! The chance to strike a decisive blow to Britannia and rendezvous with the largest terrorist group in Area 11 was not one he could pass up. "I understand. I'll get in touch with them soon. Goodbye."

He walked into the foyer of their home, immediately making his way up the stairs and toward his own room. Nunnally would be in her room playing games with Sayoko, as usual, which meant he'd be alone with... C.C.. Part of him hated that fact, but it could also prove to be an effective method of unwinding. With how stressful things had been all day, dividing his thoughts between matters regarding the Black Knights and how to balance in his school life, he'd found himself getting nothing conclusive. Except a massive headache, of course.

As he stepped into the adjoined room, the aroma of pizza immediately filled the air. He turned and slowly opened the door to his own room, sighing, "C.C., at least clean up all your pizza boxes..." he said bemusedly, noticing the pile of pizza boxes resting on his desk. What he also noticed was the open window, which was definitely not left as such when he left, and the evident lack of any green haired witches in his room. Which was weird, to say the least.

Not that C.C. on her own wasn't weird. But that just didn't click with Lelouch on this occasion. Something seemed - dare he admit it - wrong. Out of place, even. And like the last time it occurred, there certainly was no books out of place or any specs of dirt on the ground. What there was, he noticed on a second glance, a piece of paper left on his bed. He walked over to it, picking it up slowly and reading it to himself.

"C.C...!" he muttered angrilly to himself, slamming a fist onto the bed.

--

Is Lelouch finally in over his head, trying to balance everything? As little as I care for cliffhangers (notice how this is my first real cliffhanger), you'll have to wait to find out! Things will be pretty hectic next chapter, to say the least. Narita preparation, saving C.C., and keeping his school life running! All at the same time! Needless to say, I'm going to be having fun next chapter. At least I hope so, anyway. We'll have to wait and find out, won't we?

And, much to my annoyance, this chapter hardly broke three thousand words in length. I'm reasonably impressed with how quick this all came together, but at the same time the length depresses me. The chapter as a whole is also rather poor and poorly put together, but it was mostly a setup for future events. This is finally an ending I'm rather satisfied with, however, so I'll forgive myself. I hope you will too! Next chapter will probably be a bit longer, but we'll have to see. I may have most of it all planned out, but dividing things into chapters is something I'm kind of doing as I go along.

Bye for now!


	7. A Battle Of Geass

I usually start with some non-sensible ranting regarding the chapter, but I feel the need to address the issue at hand that Tyrchon presented. Yes I realize the last chapter seemed somewhat incomplete, but that was, while avoidable, would have been troublesome, what with it being the premise to future events and all. And as for the transition between chapters 5 and 6, I realize that it was rather poor, but there was nothing to do about that either really. Nothing I intended to do last chapter, anyway, with it being focused primarily on Lelouch and Suzaku. This chapter will be including more from Britannia's side, with Narita being close by, and Nunnally's side is going to slowly be merged with that as time goes on. Certainly not this chapter, but there will be a chapter coming up soon that will be at least somewhat Nunnally-centric. I say somewhat due to my glaringly obvious inability to write Nunnally to any great degree of success, coupled with my general dislike of Nunnally (don't ask why I dislike her, because I don't know). But don't worry, it will come.

This one, however, as I said, will be Narita preparations and Lelouch-centric otherwise. Like every other chapter, I realize, but that will change soon. And on a totally unrelated note, I extend a very huge apology to all the Suzaku haters that are reading this, because I can tell you now that there will be no room for Suzaku hatred anytime soon. Or at all, depending on your point of view.

--

"Sister, you've been working for hours. Take a break," Euphemia tried soothingly, not threatened by the subsequent glare she received from her sister. It had been her hope that they could resume some form of normality, and that they could finally have some R&R after all the long nights Cornelia had been spending as of late. But clearly, Cornelia would have none of that.

"We only got free of press demanding knowledge of the situation within the last few hours, so I don't have time for rest," Cornelia said quietly, ignoring her younger sister's latest attempt at relieving her of work. "With my plans in the Narita mountains, and recent events... Besides, all of that just too coincidental."

"What was?" Euphemia asked, innocently bewildered. If she was disheartened by her sister's expected reply, she didn't show it in the slightest.

"The attack on the Viceroy's Palace. It was planned somehow, I know it."

"What do you mean? Weren't they just terrorists Zero refused?" Euphemia asked, tilting her head to the side questioningly.

"That's exactly what they were. But I think he refused them knowing they'd try to prove themselves, and used them to play hero," Cornelia replied, collapsing over her desk and groaning.

"You're saying he wasted so many lives just to make himself look good?!" Euphemia cried, a tinge of uncharacteristic anger lacing her words.

"That's the thing," Cornelia started, lifting herself off the desk and tapping her fingers to some random beat along it's length. "None of them died. Not one. And when we investigated the wreckage of Knightmare Frames, they were all gone. Something like that is no coincidence..."

"So what do you think happened?" Euphemia asked, once again lost in the complexity of the issue. Not that such a thing was very difficult, seeing as she had zero knowledge of matters of war. She'd failed to receive that gene from her father, just as Nunnally and Guinevere had, it seemed.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Zero wouldn't have saved them, because if such knowledge went public all that he sought to gain from this would be lost..." Cornelia groaned once again, utterly defeated by the matter. She pressed a button on the comm system on her desk, running her free hand through her hair and gripping at it out of raw frustration, "Tell Third Prince Clovis to come here at once."

o--o

"Lelouch, look out! You're burning that!" Milly scolded as she followed the black smoke drifting out from the kitchen, promptly hitting Lelouch over the head with the small cookbook in her hand. But he didn't move. And if she wasn't so close she could feel his light breathing, she'd have suspected he'd stopped breathing, too. "...Lelouch?" she asked slowly, almost afraid.

"It's nothing," Lelouch shot back quickly, not moving. But for how little his body was moving, his mind was racing that much faster. He had to be here, he reasoned, helping them. The simple answer was that his goals should come above everything else, and he was satisfied with that. So what was with the nagging feeling that he was doing the wrong thing? It was something he had never felt before, and he didn't like it's debut one bit.

"You're burning the food, Lelouch. It's something," Milly retorted, placing her hands on her hips for emphasis. Lelouch didn't take any notice of the action, of course.

"Milly, do you know what it's like? To hide who you are from everyone?" Lelouch asked suddenly, turning to face her.

"What kind of question is that? And pay attention to the food, would you? It's still burning!" Milly retorted, making past him to frantically save the food.

"Answer the question."

"You won't have to hide yourself for much longer, will you? All of Area 11 already know who you are. Soon everyone else will know who you are, too. It's a miracle Shirley hasn't been all over you for it!" Milly chuckled slightly at her own joke, but quickly took note of the fact that Lelouch wasn't in a laughing mood.

"I still have a lot to hide," was all he said, turning to leave the kitchen. "As you can see, I'm in no condition to cook. You take my place here, and I'll worry about entertainment out there."

"Huh? W-wait, Lelouch...!" but he was already gone. Lelouch made his way toward the seats arranged for the student council members, ignoring the angry cries Milly was giving off from the kitchen, and took a seat next to Rivalz. Nunnally was seated nearby in her wheelchair, engaged in a discussion of some sort with friends from her own class. She paused long enough to cheerfully say hello to Lelouch, who kindly returned the gesture. Nunnally seemed oblivious to his sour mood.

"Weren't you cooking? Milly scold you or something?" Rivalz chuckled, patting Lelouch on the shoulder. "She's a tough one, isn't she? I don't know how you put up with it for so long, man!"

"It's not that," Lelouch replied, glancing at Rivalz from the corner of his eye.

"Jeez, why all the brooding, man? Did someone you know get kidnapped or something? Lighten up..." he chuckled the entire way through, stopping only when he noticed Lelouch glaring intently at him now. "...Did I say something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Lelouch replied nonchalantly, turning his head away. "It's nothing like that," he added, slightly quieter.

"What are you two talking about?" Shirley asked, closing in on the two. "Sorry I'm late. Got held up by some friends from the swimming club," she took a seat on Lelouch's other side, folding her hands together in her lap, fidgeting ever so slightly. "Say, Lelouch..." she started timidly, blushing furiously.

"What is it?" he replied sharply, earning him a smack to the arm from Rivalz. "I mean... What do you need, Shirley?"

"Do you... well..." she tried, unable to muster the courage to finish. "Would you... like to dance? I mean, not if you don't want to of course... and just as friends, but..."

"Of course, Shirley."

"...What?" Shirley turned toward him, mouth agape. Lelouch, as hard as it was for him to do so, managed to smile.

"Each of us has to dance at least once tonight, right? I'd be glad to dance with you," he snatched her left hand abruptly, pulling her with him to her feet. He guided her to the center of the dance floor, guiding her quickly into a complex variation of a waltz that had Shirley fighting to keep up with him. The thought hadn't occurred in her mind that he would be the least bit capable at dancing, but she quickly found it to be that she was the inferior of the two.

"Lelouch..." Shirley started, staring down at her feet both out of embarrassment and to focus more on keeping up with the swift and elegant movements of her dance partner. "Why did you never tell us? That you were a prince, I mean," she asked, her voice sounding slightly hurt.

"Shirley," she looked up timidly, trying to avoid the studying eyes staring at her. "I am not Lelouch Vi Britannia, okay? I am Lelouch Lamperouge."

"What do you mean?" she asked, thoroughly confused by the statement.

"I was exiled from Britannia seven years ago. As a political hostage to Japan, who's worth was lost when Britannia invaded. I may still hold my father's name, but I am not his son," he explained, slowing his movements to a simple slow dance as the music changed from the slightly upbeat orchestral music that had been playing previously to a slow violin melody, accompanied by the occasional addition of piano. "The Lelouch you have known for the past seven years hasn't changed, Shirley."

And yet another lie, he told himself sadly. Worse yet, that one came off without a second thought. When had it become so easy for him to tell a lie? He didn't like the revelation one bit.

"That's a lie," Shirley started, her voice distant and slightly cold. "If you haven't changed, than why are you so distant now? You used to always be there. But now, you're so far away I can barely reach you anymore!" she cried quietly, collapsing her head against his chest. "What happened to you, Lelouch?"

'I made a deal with the devil,' is what he wanted to say. But he thought better of saying such a thing to the infinitely curious person in his arms. "What would you say if I told you I was Zero?" he asked, his voice carrying a tinge of amusement so as to throw off her suspicions.

"I'd call you an idiot. Zero is your family's mortal enemy now, Lelouch," Shirley replied, chuckling slightly. "Please be serious, Lelouch," Lelouch closed his eyes, biting his lip to suppress the urge to cry out in frustration. This act gave him a moment to take in that statement, and something clicked into his mind.

"You're right, Shirley. I'm sorry," he said sadly, pulling away. He managed a small smile when she looked at him questioningly, "Tell the President I wasn't feeling well. Goodbye, Shirley," she didn't need to know just how serious he was. Not yet, anyway, he told himself as he made his way out of the ballroom, once again ignoring the frustrated cries from a woman.

As soon as he was away from any prying ears, he pulled out his cell phone. "I suppose I should call Ogi... He can get a message through to everyone to meet," he decided, finding Ogi's number in his list of speed dials.

"Zero?" Ogi's startled voice asked.

"Tell everyone to meet tomorrow. Same time as mentioned during our last meeting," Lelouch said quickly.

"What's going on? Weren't we not meeting for some time yet?"

"Cornelia is making her move. We need to make our's, Ogi. It's time we got serious."

o--o

Suzaku sat at a long table between Cecile and Lloyd, in a daze and almost completely unaware of the meeting going on around him. What if Lelouch was right? What if fighting for Britannia was the wrong answer? Could he so easily turn over and start again, fighting for his own people? Would they even accept him? Well, he didn't need to tell them that he had been serving Britannia. "It's too confusing..." he muttered to himself, resting his head on the table. "I can't do it, Lelouch..."

"Is there something you would like to share with us, Private Kururugi?" Clovis asked from his place beside his sister. Euphemia was on the other side of Cornelia, chuckling lightly to herself.

"A-ah... no, Your Highness."

"Good," Cornelia started, glancing up for the first time from the desk. "Then we can continue with this meeting. We shall be heading a massive operation to suppress the Japanese Liberation Front in the Narita mountains. Is there anything anyone would like to say?"

"I would," Jeremiah started. _'Lelouch is Zero... Somehow, he knows this is coming. And he'll exploit it,'_ he thought grimly to himself. inadvertently beginning yet another internal war of loyalties - between his loyalty to Britannia, and his loyalty to Lelouch and his family. But being loyal to Lelouch now meant turning against Britannia, and he couldn't do that. And so, his decision - no matter how painful it was - made, he spoke, "Zero will be there. We can count on that. We should plan for the possibility."

"This plan is being kept top secret. Such caution is not necessary, Jeremiah," Cornelia interjected, tapping the heels of her boots against the plush carpet beneath her. "Besides, even if he were to show, the Black Knights are nothing to the full force of Britannia's military. We could fight both, though my point still stands that he will not be there."

"Remember the Viceroy's Palace incident, Your Highness. Zero is very well informed, and Saitama has proved he surpasses many in Britannia in terms of tactical might. He also has that red Knightmare Frame. He must not be underestimated," Jeremiah explained quickly. "Besides, while the reasons are unclear, there is also the matter of Duke Henry's flight. I'm willing to wager a bet that he is in league with Zero. And a man like him would have means of making things like this known."

The room fell silent as everyone pondered over the point added to the issue. Finally, after minutes of silence, it was Suzaku that spoke, "Allow the Lancelot to join the front lines. Even if the Black Knights were to appear, I can delay them long enough for our real target to be taken out," and that was when the silence created from pondering became a silence created from complete disbelief. Not that Suzaku had expected any less.

"Letting an Honorary Britannian join the frontlines?! Unthinkable!" Kewell cried, halfway out of his seat before one of Jeremiah's rather powerful hands crashed down on his shoulder, pushing him into his seat again.

"I agree with Private Kururugi, sister," Clovis started, ignoring the subsequent glare from Kewell, who didn't seem to particularly care for rank or social standing at that moment - ironic as it was. "The Lancelot has proved itself to be the best our military has to offer at this time and, while only a child, Private Kururugi has proved to be effective with it. To waste such a powerful weapon because of social standing may very well be what keeps us from triumphing over the Black Knights."

"Very well then. Private Kururugi Suzaku, you will be working under my personal command, and will be acting on the front lines. Is that clear, everyone?" when Cornelia heard no retort - be it due to fear of her wrath or otherwise - she smiled. "Good. We begin as soon as preparations have been made. Dismissed."

o--o

"The Narita mountain range? But Zero, how do we make a stand from there?" Karen asked curiously, eyes wide with wonder. Beside her stood Ogi, who was in much the same state of shock, and behind them and around them were the rest of the Black Knights. Lelouch walked toward them, ignoring the repeated noise of his feet against the metal floor beneath him, smiling widely behind his mask. It was fake, of course, but he could at the very least try to convince himself otherwise, couldn't he?

He really couldn't, he admitted, but he adamantly refused to accept the fact that the loss of someone - that witch, no less - was tearing at him so badly. They were nothing more than pawns in a selfish scheme full of dreams of grandeur and change, he so badly wanted to say. But losing his pawns was more painful than he'd accounted for. And in this case, it didn't seem that hiding away his emotions behind a mask would work.

"You need not worry about that, Karen," Lelouch replied, casting away such thoughts as he came to a stop. "Kaguya, has the Kyoto House begun work on the project I requested?"

"They have, Zero," Kaguya chirped happily, skipping out from the crowd of Black Knights to emerge by Tamaki's side, much to the former's chagrin. "Most of your requests were being tested before you asked, so it should be ready in time for this operation..." she mused, tapping her index finger to her chin in thought. "But Karen already has the Guren Nishiki. Do you have another ace in mind, Zero?"

"And what of the report I requested regarding the JLF's Knightmare Frame stock?" he asked, ignoring her question entirely.

"Completed. They have far less Frames, but they have enough to field a force half the size of our own," Kaguya replied. "But Britannia would overwhelm them, would they not?"

"Todo Kyoshiro and the Shisei-ken are there. They won't go down without a fight," Lelouch off-handedly replied. "Now then, see to the repairs of the Frames," he added, dodging around them and making for the room this particular mobile base had reserved for him. Each one had such a room, but this mobile base served as his own in his mind. He settled into the chair at the far end of the room, groaning as he relieved himself of the mask over his head. "This truly is tiresome sometimes..."

"I'm sure it is, Lelouch," Lelouch promptly gasped and, searching quickly for the source, came upon a man standing by the door. He had impossible to read green eyes along with unkempt gray hair not that much unlike Lelouch's own, with a slight smirk on his face. "Wondering who I am?" he asked, brows furrowing in amusement.

"A little," Lelouch admitted, casting aside his mask as he studied the mysterious man - which was a stretch, as the man seemed no older than Lelouch - in front of him. "My identity is a seldom known fact, after all."

"And yet, not all that hard to figure out if the person in question can accept the fact that you are Zero. I'm sure you are aware of the fact that your father is aware of your identity, and that Schneizel at least suspects it."

"Just who are you?" Lelouch asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Someone like you. Another who suffers from this curse we call Geass."

Lelouch quietly gasped to himself. "How do you know I have Geass?"

"Mao told me it was a possibility. Turns out it's true."

"...Mao? The one... who has C.C.?!" Lelouch nearly cried, up with a start.

"That's the one! He expects me to keep you neutralized with my Geass, but I have a score to settle with V.V. for giving this power to me. So consider me an ally."

"I'll help you settle the score when C.C. is safe. And you said Mao knows of Geass. Does he have one too?" Lelouch asked, grabbing his mask and pulling it over his head.

"Indeed he does. But he told me not to divulge information regarding what he can do with it. And I have my own code of honor."

"Very well," the two made their way through the mobile base, and Lelouch quickly took note of the fact that the members of the Order were ignoring the man's presence. Lelouch was questioned once or twice, but he just shook his head and refused to answer. They didn't seem too surprised by such a thing. "You have the Power of Absolute Obedience too...?" he asked as soon as they were free of the mobile base, piqued slightly.

"So that's your Geass, huh? Quite the useful tool for a revolutionary."

Lelouch said no more on the matter. He didn't need a complete stranger - one he couldn't trust in the least, he added - to know much. "So, what can I call you?" he asked curiously.

"My name is Rai."

--

Absolutely hated that last bit, I must say. But I'll digress, because the rest was at least moderately acceptable in my books. Sorry for the bit of Lulu/Shirley fluff there, but I couldn't resist. Not particularly a fan of the pairing, but it seemed to fit well. And sorry again, but mainly to the really Lulu/Shirley fans as I have no intentions of pursuing such a pairing.

And I'll say now that I will _not_ be adding any other characters to the Code Geass storyline that were exclusive to material beyond the anime. Polux and Castor got a mention, but that's all, and Rai will be serving more of a secondary character purpose for the most part. But he's an interesting character, and his backstory went well with what Mao is capable of. You'll see what I mean next chapter.

Bye bye!


	8. Leave all the Rest Behind

Okay, I had something of a revelation between last chapter and this one, thanks to all ye faithful reviewers. Looking back over my work, my last few chapters (which I had been trying to finish faster for you all) have been rather rushed overall, and looking back I am quite displeased with that. But because it isn't critical at the moment I won't be rewriting anything. I'll go back and make revised versions of those few chapters further down the road, but doing so right now isn't first and foremost on my list of priorities.

The point is, that this chapter - while not necessarily much more substantial than the two before it - will be approached far more carefully written. Mainly because I'm something of a perfectionist, and looking back over those mistakes simply bugged me. So I apologize in advance for reverting to my week-or-more long waiting periods, but those lengthy waiting periods did produce better writing, I notice now.

Anyway, rants aside, we'll _try_ to see how everything flows here. I'm going to be fitting Lelouch and Rai's battle against Mao as well as Narita together into this chapter, which will more than likely make for a longer than intended chapter. But lumping them together is somewhat necessary for the main point to this chapter (and no, Narita isn't the main point), and that will come to light either this chapter or next, depending how perceptive you are. Don't expect something super surprising, because it's nothing of the sort, but it will be setting a focal point for things to come.

This chapter, however, has little going for it in the way of excitement. Unless you're looking forward to a battle of sorts involving Geass powers - however short and anti-climactic it may be - or are interested in war like me - the latter of which being due to the fact that Narita will be completely different so that I can use a more original approach, seeing as using a _Fukushahado_-based tactic no longer can be considered as such. But we'll have to see how everything goes, and hope it doesn't end up too far from the reality of how things were!

--

_We were trying to move with too little fuel._

_Figuratively speaking, that's exactly how things were. In the midst of my burning urge to bring down Mao, it completely failed to register in my mind that we had no plan and that we were most certainly at a disadvantage. Which was shocking for both of us to say the least, with me being the person who was known to think things through completely before taking a single step. But if this Rai person ever asked, C.C. was nothing more than an important piece to me and my need to ensure success was nothing more than an issue of pride. That's how things should have been, at least._

_When this revelation had come into focus, we abandoned our strategically suicidal plan and retired to my home back at Ashford. Rai took over C.C.'s bed in my room, and he slept rather soundly. Far too soundly given the situation, I had to add. He was a wild card, and with him having a Geass, I couldn't be sure whether or not I could get anything from him with my own. I could test, but I was rather set on using Mao for such testing. Then I could figure out where my ally - if I could call him as such - stood. _

_And as if my sleeping cycle wasn't bad enough already, the night went without rest for me. I lay there the entire night, thinking over the various ways to approach things. Rai had told me where Mao and C.C. were - the Code-R laboratory at the Rosenberg Institute in the Narita settlement, ironically - and I was already thinking over what I could do to force a checkmate on the man. It was a tough job to do, with me not knowing a thing about my foe while he seemed to know quite a lot about me, but I managed to do so by the time Rai had awoken._

_I showered and dressed as per usual routine, ignoring the small difference that was Rai's presence and C.C.'s absence, grabbing my school bag as I made to bid farewell to Nunnally and Sayoko. I spent more of my time with them that morning than I usually would have, but I felt the need to was particularly strong. And as I left, kindly requesting that Sayoko take care of Nunnally during my absence, one thing coursed it's way through my mind._

_I wasn't going to school._

o--o

"He's never going to find us, C.C.," Mao said jovially. From what C.C. could tell, to say he was insane would be something of an understatement. She wasn't quite sure if there was a correct way to state it, but it was rather clear he was beyond insane. And with him standing in front of her, clad in something resembling a white trench coat with a pale blue overcoat not extending past his forearms, topped off with a blood red viser keeping his Geass-imbued eyes hidden with his silver hair falling over them slightly, and purple headphones that he had already admitted was playing her voice...

His insanity had clearly gone leaps and bounds beyond what it had reached when she left him.

"I'm not planning on him finding us," C.C. shot back casually. Save for the slightly irritating pain shooting through her wrists due to the restraints - in the form of well knotted rope - keeping them together and the equally irritating pain in her ankles from them being tied to the chair in much the same way, she was actually in quite pleasant living conditions. The painful memories that she could in fact still remember that had previously caused her relentless ache had now dulled to a minor annoyance in the back of her mind, as well.

For someone that she wouldn't put beyond dissecting a human being piece by piece and taking overwhelming glee in such an action, Mao seemed to be somewhat lenient in her case.

"Oh? Don't you two have a contract?" Mao asked in that sickeningly pleased voice, lowering himself so that his eyes - though C.C. couldn't see them - were at level with C.C.'s. "Or do you plan to leave him, like you did me?"

"He's got priorities higher than me, Mao. And he'll be putting them first," C.C. countered, her gaze not leaving the visor. "He's not an idiot. You should be sane enough to realize that," she added, careful not to do more damage than necessary.

"Well, whatever," Mao laughed, standing upright. "It's just us now again, C.C.. We can be happy together," he moved over toward the other chair the laboratory offered - the rest likely having been removed when the laboratory was abandoned - and seated himself, staring at C.C. almost possessively.

C.C. found herself almost praying that Lelouch had the sense not to come at that moment. "No," C.C. deadpanned, closing her eyes. "We can't."

"Y-you don't know what you're saying! Of course we can! You wouldn't have come with me if you didn't believe so!" Mao cried desperately, begging for some form of positive response.

All he got in return, however, was more of C.C.'s already overflowing pity. "I came to end thing," she started, already formulating - or at least trying to formulate a plan to escape the bounds she'd been placed in. "...I'm sorry, Mao," she sighed sadly, opening her eyes and locking them with Mao's. They spoke volumes of sensible ranting that C.C. wouldn't do herself, effectively bringing even Mao's insanity-induced hope to a swift derailment.

"Fine then..." he started, disappearing out of C.C.'s limited view. Sounds of things moving about were heard as Mao prepared various torturing tools, laying them out along a wheeled table. "We'll have to be together... through other means."

o--o

"Where's Zero?" Ogi asked worriedly, bringing his Gloucester to a halt at the first bit of flat ground he'd come to in a long while since beginning the long climb up Narita mountain. Strangely they hadn't been inspected by any of the Japanese Liberation Front's patrol stations, and many had speculated that to be the work of Zero. A larger number had a few questions as to how he did such a thing, but the more perceptive noted that it was lower on the list of surprising actions their masked leader had pulled off.

And that same masked leader was now absent, having left Ogi with instructions and coordinates to guide the small army up to a hidden flat ground - on which they now rested - atop Narita mountain. With the situation they were to be in, several had speculated upon the possibility of Zero not wanting to be in such a do-or-die position. But if that were the case, would he have put himself on the front-lines at Saitama or in front of the Viceroy's Palace.

The answer that everyone could agree on was, in fact, no.

"Who knows?" Tamaki replied, bringing his Gekka - which had only recently been assigned to him - to a halt next to Ogi. "But do you really think we can win? From here, we'll be surrounded! We can't honestly be expected to make a stand from here!" he complained, ignoring the influx of annoyed remarks telling him to "Calm down" or to "Shut it" and opting instead to continue to rant incoherently, spewing curses every four or five words.

"We just have to trust Zero," Karen put in, joining the two in the Guren Nishiki. Her landspinners made an annoying screech as she came to a halt which was quickly drowned out by the identical screeches of other Knightmare Frames - which had previously been in front of her, with her acting as rear guard for the moving group - coming to a halt as well all around her. In her peripherals alone she could count nearly twenty, each and every one sporting that black paint job and the Black Knights symbol that had now made itself known country-wide thanks to the efforts of Diethard. "He hasn't let us down before, has he?"

And once again, the answer was a simple no.

o--o

Cornelia was already in her Gloucester, and her unusually high amounts of patience were understandably thin. The possibility of revenge against Zero which, now that she thought about it, was considerably high, burned deep within her heart. If he made himself known, he could be sure he would be seeing no end to her assault. Not until he was brought to justice for what he had done. That decisive remark, in turn, brought around a rather important question, however. And an equally bewildering one.

Just what had Zero done? Sure, he was no more innocent than any other terrorist, but was that it? Was that all he had done, was group together and lead terrorists? And yet when people spoke of him, it was as if they were speaking of the devil himself. Which, on a different note, could be potentially true if the skills seen in Shinjuku and Saitama were in fact his own. But really, all he did was become an icon and hope for the Elevens.

Which, as even Britannians - excluding the Purist Faction - could agree, was not entirely a bad thing.

"Your Highness, you'll be cleared for launch shortly," came Darlton's voice over her comm system, calm as ever. "Are you ready?"

"I was born ready." was her reply, quick and to the point. She scanned her peripherals, occupied entirely save for her twelve by Sutherlands. Behind her were her personal Glaston Knights, at the head of which was her personal knight Gilbert Guilford, equally as ready as Cornelia for a fierce battle, though he'd dare not show such lack of restraint. "What kind of forces are we looking at, Darlton?"

"Half our own. Burais all. Seems the underground terrorist groups have finally fielded these things," Darlton replied, a slight mocking tone to his otherwise monotone voice. He flipped to another page in the report he held, scanning it quickly for anything worth noting. Finding nothing, he tossed it aside and returned his hands to their rightful places at the controls on either side. "Nothing more than Elevens trying to match the firepower that wiped them out seven years ago. They're no match for us," he added cockily, his indifferent air replaced by a desire no weaker than Cornelia's to be out on the battlefield.

"Don't underestimate them. We've seen the Black Knights use them at the Viceroy's Palace, and they're stronger than they look," Cornelia chided, now unbearably itching for the fight to come. "Forget protocols, knights. With me!" she cried, and her Gloucester was launched from the mobile base before any could get in a word otherwise. Bewildered as they were the Glaston Knights followed, eager to render good service as they had more than once in the past.

o--o

"Signals detected!" Kai Kutagari, information's executive of the Japanese Liberation Front cried from his respective station station. Eager and expectant ears straightened as those two words reached them, and all were suddenly very alert. "Britannia has attacked! But with so few?" there was a sizable amount of frantic movement as people hastened to their respective stations to take up their own jobs, or rushing to the hangers in the case of the pilots who hadn't already launched.

"Calm down, Kaiza! They're just front-line dogs disobeying orders to get the first shot off. Take them out," Akiraka Yamagiwa, head of military operations, chided coldly. Spirits were low with the delayed arrival of their savior, Kyoshiro Todo, but all were eager to prove they hadn't fallen behind in just because of the appearance the Black Knights presented in Area 11. They _would_ prove themselves capable of fending of Cornelia, just as Zero had. Be it a contradiction of their own words or not, they believed they had to.

"Scouts found at various locations! They've been inspecting the area for this location!" Kai reported quickly, losing spirit once more.

"Have they found us?" all eyes that weren't already preoccupied turned to the doorway, where Todo stood, the Shisei-ken just two paces behind him.

"No, sir. But I suspect they will soon. We should focus on the group that has just launched," Kai replied swiftly, studying the radar in front of him as best he could. It wasn't exactly the best technology had to offer, but trying to manage without it would have been nothing short of suicide in such a case. "What do you think?"

"Keep all forces on the defensive, and send the group that was to aim for that group to seek out their scouts. Attacking the Glaston Knights from the front would be suicidal," Todo answered, taking a seat in the nearest unoccupied seat.

"Th-the Glaston Knights?! I thought they were still in Britannia!" Akiraka cried, sheer terror working it's way into everyone present save for Todo and the Shisei-ken. Nagisa wore a look no different than her usual cold indifference, while the rest simply watched the unfolding events, considerably eager to join the fighting.

"I did too. Seems Cornelia is worried that Zero will make himself known here too," was Todo's quick-witted reply, "I'll take command of those on the field. Keep me posted," and with that, the five were gone again, leaving those in the command center wondering exactly what Todo did to keep himself and his Shisei-ken so confident in the face of total destruction.

"Todo, do you think we can win?" Shogo asked nervously, rubbing at his temple as he was lifted up to the cockpit of his Gekka. "I mean, this is Cornelia..."

"The Black Knights are here, most likely. We will win today," Todo replied quickly, hardly waiting for the cockpit to his Gekka to finish opening before leaping in, running checks on everything with ace-like reflexes. "Those Glaston Knights are no match for the Shisei-ken, though. We'll take them on."

"W-wait a second! We're putting our lives on the gambit of whether or not the Black Knights will come?!" Nagisa cried, slamming a fist rather angrily down on her thigh before returning it to it's rightful place at the controls. "Zero can't be trusted to save us! He's too much of a wild card!"

"If past events are any indication, Zero is looking to expand the size and influence of the Black Knights, and will certainly want us on his side. All we need care about is our own fight," Todo explained. All fell silent then, the only sound being that of their landspinners against the rocky ground beneath them accompanied by the occasional sound of an explosion as Knightmare Frames were destroyed in the distance. By now, radars were showing well over forty Britannian Knightmare Frame signals, with more being launched quickly. They were being quickly outnumbered, Todo noted, and such a fact was already being made evident in the amount of ground they were losing.

"But will the Black Knights cooperate with us, or work on their own?" Urabe asked quickly.

"They'll have to cooperate," Senba commented, bringing a Sutherland to an abrupt halt by means of removing it's landspinners with shots from his hand gun before cleaving the immobilized Sutherland in half with his Katen Yaibatou. "Not even the Black Knights can expect to repel a force like this without working with us."

"Then we'll just have to hold our own weight until then, won't we?" Urabe commented. It was a known fact that he was one of the more level-headed amongst the JLF, but it was equally known that he was no less eager than any other to hit Britannia - and with the Gekka he had at his fingertips, he could hit them hard. This fact was exemplified further by each fit of gleeful chuckling brought on by the sight of his Katen Yaibatou cleaving it's way through an opposing Sutherland.

Todo, meanwhile, was far more collected. He attacked methodically and with some measure of tact, each move leaving him with fewer chances to be put on the defensive. His foes were left bewildered as to how they could oppose him, leaving them equally helpless as they became the next targets of either his hand gun or his Katen Yaibatou, one by one. The destruction caused by the Shisei-ken alone quickly began to pile up, visible on the radars by the clearly noticeable line through the Britannian formation where they'd been.

o--o

"Todo's group has breached the Britannian line, as predicted!" Ogi said in awe, watching signals appearing and disappearing on his radar without relent, particularly where Todo and the Shisei-ken were breaking through. The only exception to the mass of destruction was in the aforementioned case of the five signals representing those of the Shisei-ken, who had broken through the better part of the Britannian forces proceeding up the west side of the mountain, and had already managed to rendezvous with the cornered JLF forces on the east side. Sheer overwhelming power and talent seemed to be effective to some extent, at least in this case, Ogi noted.

"Should we make our move too?" Karen asked curiously. Her hands were gripped tightly onto their respective controls, causing sweat to form both on the palms of her hands and on her forehead. Such was the anticipation and anxiety that was not an uncommon thing among the Black Knights at that moment. Being stuck watching from the sidelines didn't seem nearly as appealing now as it had when Zero had made that persuasive speech about how it would give them a fighting chance - beyond the strength to make cowardly attacks that they currently had - and that doing so was nothing short of a necessity.

Speaking of masked - and possibly not entirely sane - terrorists, Karen had to wonder: just where was their leader? They'd overruled the possibility of him having turned tail and hidden himself away so as to avoid the risk to his own life, but that didn't make wonder over the actual scenario any less bewildering. But it was also a fact that Zero was a secretive as they came, and the odds of knowing the true reason he wasn't there at that moment was slim to none.

"Zero?!" speak of the devil, several were thinking in unison. Ogi's exasperated voice cut into several trains of thought like a knife through butter, who all stopped dead to focus on what was happening. "Where are you?!" he demanded, allowing his comm system to project his own voice to everyone else present.

"I'm making some final preparations," Lelouch replied quietly, standing by the closed door to yet another unchecked laboratory room. Rai was on the other side of the door, pistol in hand as he waited for Lelouch to give the okay for beginning a search of that room. Like the six before it, Rai expected to find nothing - in fact, the odds of C.C. still being alive when they arrived was painfully slim in his eyes. "Have Todo and the Shisei-ken attacked, as per my prediction?"

"They have," Ogi answered, looking down at the radar again. The vivid green lines outlining it's background had long since become bothersome to stare at, however, and his eyes pained to do so for extended periods of time. "They are currently forded up on the east side, having breached over from the west side. They managed to do so through sheer force, too! Shouldn't we just do the same, Zero?"

"That's strategy, not force, Ogi," Lelouch scolded coolly, formulating a quick - and at least somewhat accurate - rendition of the current situation on a radar in his mind all the while. It was a stretch from reality as far as realistically thinking went, but he didn't mind in the least. "Cornelia will be proceeding up the west side, and will be aiming for the lone plateau along that route. When she reaches it, proceed with Phase One. Afterwards, Squads B and C are to proceed southeast, rendezvousing with the Shisei-ken and pushing the attack from there. You will take Squad A and Karen, proceeding toward the plateau."

It was considerably harder leading this way, Lelouch noted sourly. Trust in Zero was rather low as a whole - with trust only stemming from the unanimous agreement that the Japanese needed him - and trying to lead while not in the actual line of fire only added to that issue.

"W-wait! We're attacking Cornelia head on?!" Ogi cried hastily, taken aback in his swirl of emotions lost somewhere between fright, worry, and fear for Zero's sanity.

"Yes you are. You will win, though. However, you must believe in me. Did I not promise to deliver victory?" Lelouch asked, his voice taking on a previously unfamiliar tone of hurt that made it sound almost pleading. Ogi couldn't help but wonder if such a show of emotions was an act or not.

"...Back in Shinjuku, yes..." Ogi sighed, running his free hand down his face. "Alright, Zero. When will you arrive?"

"If the Lancelot launches, contact me immediately. We're not losing to that thing again," Lelouch ordered. "I'll be there soon," and with that, he hung up as abruptly as ever. Ogi was left wondering exactly why he always did that - hanging up as soon as he'd gotten what he wanted across - but deduced that it was just part of who the emotionless leader was. Which was more than a little ironic, really.

"So what now?" Karen asked. Ogi sucked in a breath, making sure he was ready, before speaking.

"Begin the attack."

o--o

"You're not the hope of the Japanese for nothing, Zero," Rai commented dryly as soon as Lelouch had hung up. Lelouch looked at him quizically, and Rai simply smirked - if it could be called a smirk, as it was hardly more than a slight crook to his otherwise blank expression - in response. "These guys are hanging on your every word. They'd die for you on a moment's notice."

Lelouch didn't find the same humor that Rai did in such a remark, unfortunately, though his expression of such a matter was far more restrained than it was in his mind. "They deserve a future, Rai. Britannia stole that from them. I wouldn't manipulate them," Lelouch retorted coldly, leaning against the wall. "Go," he ordered, changing the subject as he nodded his head toward the still closed doorway.

"Yes, yes..." Rai punched in a code on the keypad adjacent to the door, only waiting for it to open halfway before slipping his slim frame through the opening. His eyes immediately studied the full extent of his peripherals, finding nothing but a tipped over table - which could just as easily have been a product of someone leaving far more hastily than they needed to - and a few bottles of Refrain laying on the floor. "A Refrain testing lab. All clear," he reported quietly, turning to leave again.

The next room wasn't much different. The whole of the first and second floors were nothing more than laboratories dedicated to research regarding different things such as Refrain. It should have been expected, Lelouch thought dejectedly in hindsight, lifting his feet one after another in a rather painful stair-climbing expedition toward the third floor. To Rai it was perfectly natural, where as in Lelouch's case it was the equivalent of an entire PE class' worth of exercise to the average person.

Needless to say, the stairs were bothersome after all the moving around he'd been doing all day.

o--o

"Where did these guys learn to fight?!" Bart Darlton, one of many adopted sons of Andreas Darlton and one of the Glaston Knights, cried as he retracted his slash harken from a now burning Burai. It's cockpit ejected and flew away to safety, but the feeling of victory was short lived as Bart immediately had to turn and block a rather swift attack from another Burai. The other four Glaston Knights were pressed in much the same way, and their leader was only performing slightly better, with her ace level piloting skills.

"Keep your chin up, Bart!" Claudio said cockily, thrusting his lance through the side of the Burai attacking Bart, taking the cockpit in the same thrust. "These guys should be child's play for the Glaston Knights!" he exclaimed triumphantly, making an about face and repeating the process on another Burai.

"Your sons aren't rusty are they, Andreas?" Cornelia asked, bringing her Gloucester to a halt and pushing her lance through a Burai's chest. She turned to her side and moved forward a few paces, cutting off two more who were en route to press Bart further. She could do little else, she noted bemusedly, being pressed by the defending JLF forces. They were surprisingly few in number, but that must have been the work of Todo, she thought sourly, recalling scout reports saying the west side was difficult to attack from - being all steep incline with only one plateau to speak of - and that the east would make for better fighting ground.

She hadn't listened, of course, deciding that her tactic of reaching their base through minimal fighting was better than going the safer way and having to breach through the bulk of their forces. But in hindsight, she seemed to have made the wrong decision, noticing just how tough these Burai were with the steep uphill disadvantage pressing on her. But such a thought was dismissed immediately, given that it was much too late to reform her plan without spreading confusion and demoralizing the knights under her command. "Glaston Knights, charge! Royal Knights, with me! We're aiming for that plateau!" she beckoned determinedly as the two Burai before her were wiped out with help from her Royal Knights, granting herself passage once more. She crossed one or two others on her way further up, thrusting her lance through one as she went and leaving the other to be waylaid by the fifteen or so Royal Knights behind her.

Any thin resistance they met was immediately cut down to minuscule sizes by the Glaston Knights, leaving the remainder to be picked off by the forces trailing behind. Using such overwhelming tactics, it wasn't long before they reached the flat plateau that granted them haven until they should mount a second assault. Cornelia immediately picked up the transmitter resting by her side, clicking it on and declaring triumphantly, "Area B-5 has been occupied. Loosen the defenses on the mobile base and prepare to launch all reserves. We're wiping these terrorists out."

"Understood," Clovis replied, cutting the link between the two. Cornelia sighed and ran a hand through her long locks of hair, allowing them to fall in haphazardly over her face as her hand returned to it's place. Though she'd never admit it to anyone but herself - and even that was a stretch to do at times - she did tire quite quickly doing this. The fearless leader did in fact have a weakness in trying to balance superb leadership and ace level piloting, but it was a weakness none but the most perceptive knew of.

She broke herself away from her thoughts suddenly - or rather, was broken away from them forcefully by a shrill scream of horror - and immediately studied her peripherals to find the source of said scream and the reason for it. But her knight was having none of that, choosing to give her the answer she desperately sought after, "Above! It's... it's a rock slide?!"

Before Cornelia could try and salvage the situation, the boulders struck. They rolled full force into the unsuspecting Glaston Knights and Royal Knights, obliterating everything in their path and proceeding to the foot of the mountain where their disintegrating momentum left them crumbling as they struck hard but far from effectively at the Frames and mobile base below, leaving much of the forces below damaged in one way or another. By nothing more than her own piloting expertise Cornelia managed to avoid, but unfortunately her troops weren't nearly as lucky.

Nearly two minutes and nearly twenty boulders later, Cornelia found her troops absolutely crushed. Of her Royal Knights, only four had survived. Of her Glaston Knights - who's grand debut in Area 11 was clearly cut short - only Bart survived, plus both Guilford and Darlton. Of a force of twenty-three counting herself, only eight had lived to see the end of the assault. "What... was that...?!" Darlton gasped, still struggling to regain his breath after having pulled at every string of his piloting talents to save his life.

"It was..." Guilford paused as the sound of landspinners resonated. Looking upwards, Guilford caught sight of _them_. "The... the Black Knights!" he gasped out, readying himself as best he could given the current situation. "Your orders, Your Highness?!" he cried, clashing with the first of the opposing Black Knights - a Gloucester, coincidentally.

"Ugh..." Cornelia gritted her teeth, wracking her brain as best she could. She grabbed her transmitter, tuning it to address all of her soldiers before speaking, "The Black Knights have made themselves known! All forces, charge! Do not allow them to reinforce the JLF!"

o--o

Sliding his back up against the length of the wall he rested against, promptly ignoring the impatient foot tapping Rai was giving off from the doorway leading out of the stairwell, Lelouch finally slowed his breathing to short gasps. It wasn't his fault, he tried to reason. He hadn't anticipated such physical exertion! Rather, he hadn't anticipated the elevators being out of service. Had Mao somehow known they were coming?

"Are you done now? We could have found them by now had you not needed to recuperate... for _three minutes_," Rai made sure to enunciate on the last bit, narrowing his eyes at his companion. Lelouch chose the better path of ignoring him, making his way over to the door in nothing more than slow drags of the feet along the ground. It would be a while before he brought himself to do much more, Rai figured.

"Let's go," Lelouch deadpanned, pushing past Rai and through the door, making his way down the hallway extending to his left. Rai immediately followed, falling into step with Lelouch while checking the clip on his pistol. For the seventh time, Lelouch noted. "Your bullets aren't going anywhere."

"I'd think you'd be smarter than to underestimate C.C.'s last contractor, Lelouch," Rai spoke with a tinge of mirth, realizing quickly - based on the look on his face - that Lelouch had been unaware of that little detail.

"I see..." comprehension replaced shock as Lelouch nodded affirmatively, putting the missing pieces into the puzzle that all of the recent events surrounding Mao and C.C. were. "So that's why... and that's how he has Geass, too. But to go so far..."

"He's not sane, Lelouch. Not anymore. He needs help. You should know that, at least," Rai's words carried full blown amusement now, relishing in the moment of Lelouch's intelligence being called into question. The factor of it being over something neither could call relevant in the scope of Lelouch's brilliance didn't matter at the moment. Lelouch's mind avoided all such thoughts, however, instead asking himself just why he should know of such a thing. And then all the little broken off corners of puzzle pieces decided to turn up in the forgotten nooks and crannies of Lelouch's mind, as he realized all the subtle hints coming together.

First was the letter C.C. had left him the night before last. _"Let me do this alone. I owe it to him to,"_ she had told him. He had ignored that entirely, lost in his sheer rage at that point in time, but recalling it now made some sense. Then there was the fact that he'd come for her in the first place, coupled with the fact that they had a past together. The thought that occurred to Lelouch immediately was simple: the battle to beat the curse of Geass' loneliness had gone poorly for Mao.

"He needs our help then," Lelouch decided, the iniquitous tone of his words belying his somewhat honest desire to help. Rai simply nodded his agreement as they continued down the hall, having yet to find a room that hadn't been left open and, by extension, completely empty. Mao had planned that, too, Lelouch figured. That made his interest in what his foe was capable of with his Geass increase further still.

That thought fell short as he reached the first door that was closed. Nodding to eachother, Rai punched in the code to open the door, gun at the ready. The sight they were greeted with on the other side, however, was as relieving as it was bewildering and disturbing. Mao was on the ground looking up at C.C. - who was standing over him with a gun in her hand - with a pleading look in his eyes. A chainsaw lay nearby, still rumbling slightly to signify still being running. C.C. had a thick layer of sweat on her forehead, and - despite her attempts to mask it - was visibly panting. And after noting the various tools - from a scalpel to an oddly shaped hook-like tool that bewildered Lelouch further still - laying about, Lelouch had some comprehension regarding the fierce fight that had taken place between the two.

In short, C.C. had failed to take care of it alone.

"So you're Mao," Lelouch raised an eyebrow as he took in the man's appearance. Simply put, he'd expected something... well, _different_.

"Lelouch..." C.C. started, glancing at him only from the corner of her eye. "Why are you here?"

"To get you back," he deadpanned, eyes not leaving Mao. He started stepping forward, hand reaching toward the gun holstered at his side, hidden by his untucked shirt. "From someone who has no claim to you anymore."

"...And you do?"

"More so than Mao. He may have had a contract with you, but that's in the past, C.C.," Lelouch drew his pistol and aimed it at Mao, who had yet to so much as acknowledge his presence. Which had the added effect of fueling Lelouch's suspicion further.

"Don't be so suspicious of me, Lelouch," Mao remarked, his eyes leaving C.C. long enough to glance over at Lelouch and Rai briefly. "Just leave me and C.C. be. She's happy here... right, C.C.?"

"I see..." comprehension replaced blank confusion, and Lelouch nodded understandingly, not giving C.C. the time to respond.

"If you do, then leave," Mao ordered, returning his eyes to C.C.'s

"Your Geass allows you to read minds," Lelouch corrected, smiling slyly. "That explains all the signs that you knew we were coming. But I thought you'd be more surprised that Rai betrayed you."

"All I want is C.C.!" Mao gasped out, beginning to shake violently. "I don't care what I lose if I get her. Really, who needs someone who only knows who they are because of me?!"

"...What?" utter confusion returned once more, and Lelouch blinked back at Rai who - for the moment - had his head hung in shame.

"It's nothing!" Rai snapped. He grabbed his own gun and aimed it at Mao, gritting his teeth in unfounded rage. "I just want revenge against V.V., Lelouch. Drop it."

Lelouch had no intention of doing so, of course. But keeping his allies as allies for the time being was necessary. Unless he didn't mind having his chances of living through the present challenge dramatically decreasing, that is.

"Right," and that was why he agreed, not unlike a mindless drone as his attention returned to Mao. "C.C., I'm sorry," he stated in an emotionless tone, preparing to fire.

"Lelouch, I told you I'd handle this!" C.C. retorted bitterly, tightening her grip on her gun. If Lelouch wasn't so sure of her uncanny resistance to pain, he was sure that would have hurt considerably.

"And look where that got you," he muttered, eyes not leaving Mao, who was cut out of the conversation, hard as he may try to delve back in.

"What's that supposed to mean?" C.C. shot back casually, amusement acting as a replacement for her previous anger.

"I was worried!" he blurted before he could stop himself. To remedy the situation he turned toward Mao entirely, making sure C.C. wasn't in his view at all. He sure as hell wouldn't allow her to see the flustered expression on his face. "We don't fight alone... understand?"

"Shut up!" Mao snapped suddenly, glaring daggers at Lelouch. "Worried?! Worry about yourself! C.C. is mine!"

"Silence," Lelouch ordered, Geass flaring in his eye. It took a moment - one of great anticipation on Lelouch's part, despite the situation - but the Geass took it's effect, leaving Mao unable to speak. "So I can use Geass on other Geass users, it seems," he remarked to himself, smiling slightly despite himself.

Ignoring Rai asking impatiently - far too impatiently, Lelouch noted duely - if they were done, Lelouch walked forward agonizingly slowly, "Mao, you were given a power you couldn't control. And when you lost control, you lost everything. So I will save you. And I will promise to you here, that I will not fall victim to it as you have. I will see everything through, and I will not lose to Geass."

And with that, he fired.

--

And we'll end off there. Nearly seven thousand words is longer than I expected, but there's nothing wrong with that, right?

And yes, I know I promised insight into Rai's position but rather only hinted at it, but it should be easy enough to figure out. If not, well, fret not, for he does have some use left, and his own position will play the focal point.

Next chapter will have two twists - one expected and possibly anticipated while the other unexpected, or so I hope. It will conclude Narita, and will be setting the stage for what is coming next. Feel free to guess on it, but I very much doubt anyone will see it coming.

Again, I very much hope so.

Bye for now!


	9. Japan's Army

I hope people found last chapter to be an improvement like I intended. As far as things went, it could have been far worse. The fight between Lelouch and Mao was far less climactic than it really could have been, but I'm not too concerned about that. Mao - as I made apparent last chapter - was really no more than a character I added in solely for the purpose of being a test subject for Lelouch. Rai plays a more prominent role than him, really.

Now, onto the conclusion to Narita that is coming. Flame if you will, because I most certainly deserve it. I'm absolutely disgusted with how fast paced I made it, but with all that needed doing this chapter I couldn't help it. Hopefully the content itself makes up for how rushed it is, but I very much doubt it.

Anyway, ineffective attempts at getting your pity aside, there isn't really anything else that needs saying. So let's just get things rolling!

--

"Charge, Black Knights! Lord Zero will arrive soon!" Tamaki cried, charging ahead of the rest in his enthrallment of scoring such a victory over Britannia. The feeling of victory was not one unknown to him but this one, he surmised, would be so much sweeter than their victory at Saitama. This one was against Cornelia herself, after all. He caught sight of another Gloucester, readying it's lance for the conflict to come, and immediately veered off course to attack it.

"You're powerful, for an Eleven," Guilford commented through his open comm channel as their lances clashed, smiling slightly. "But we Britannians are bred to be strong. Don't think you can measure up."

"Don't look down on us just for having a title you gave us!" Tamaki cried, and with one forceful move removed Guilford's lance from his hands. "Prepare to die, Britannian!" he pushed his lance forward, aiming straight for the cockpit. By swift twisting of his legs Guilford managed to dodge enough for the lance to only leave him without one of his arms, but the force of the blow was enough to send him into a steady descent of the mountainside.

"Impressive. Your Highness, we can't fight here," Guilford managed to stop his descent, bringing himself to a steady climb again. "I'll defend the plateau while you retreat. We can't afford to lose either," he brought out his rifle, firing up at Tamaki who resisted the shots with swift dodges or allowing the shots to hit where armor was thicker, rendering them useless against his powerful Gloucester.

"...You're right, Guilford," Cornelia pulled away from the two Sutherlands attacking her, wheeling about and descending. "Royal Knights and Glaston Knights, we're retreating! Darlton, protect us!" she ordered, steering around rocks protruding from the mountainside, already taking to studying her radar for a suitable location to retreat to. "Regroup with the Third Division!"

"You're brave, for a Britannian," Tamaki conceded, pointing his lance downward at Guilford's climbing form. "But bravery isn't enough! We will get our names back!"

"By following Zero? And what of your own desires? Or do you have no care for them, so long as Zero delivers victory?" Guilford taunted, swerving enough to the side to be out of the lance's trajectory, only to have Tamaki turn to aim at him once more.

"I don't care! Zero can win our independence! He can save the world from Britannia's Darwinism!" Tamaki pushed his lance forward, through the chest of Guilford's Gloucester. Guilford quickly put himself in reverse, pulling away from it before any critical damage was done. But the damage was done regardless, and he quickly found it growing harder and harder to urge his Frame forward.

"And what will he replace it with? What leads you to believe he can give you something better than what Britannia has given you?" Guilford asked, putting everything he had into one final spurt as he forced his Gloucester forward.

"He'll replace it with peace! An ideal world! One where we keep our names! All numbers!" Tamaki roared, taking his own rifle and firing down at Guilford.

"Fool. Such a world can't be created," Guilford said coldly, forcing himself to eject. Tamaki cursed under his breath at the failure to eliminate the foe, but allowed it to slide for the moment.

He could always take out the Lancelot, he decided cheerfully. That would be many times better.

"Alright, the plateau has fallen!" Ogi cried out as the Black Knights grouped together, Cornelia having already gotten too far away to be worth the risk of pursuit. She certainly was worth every bit of praise regarding her abilities on a battlefield, even if Zero trumped her completely, save for in raw piloting skill. "Ichitaka, Minami, Lord Zero wants you to regroup with the JLF and work with Todo. The rest of you are with me. For Japan!"

"For Japan!"

And all Frames were moving once again, building confidence in just those two words.

o--o

Boredom.

That one thought was shared between all three leaders of the Purist Faction. Having been stuck on guard duty - stuck protecting the rear lines alongside Earl Lloyd's division simply as an ironic punishment for failing to protect a prison from Zero, that was really the only thing that coursed it's way through their minds at the time. It was quite unfair, really, that despite Cornelia's order, officials denied their deployment on the grounds this being punishment for their past failure. That didn't explain why the Lancelot hadn't been deployed, but there was one person that suspected even those with the greatest hatred toward Elevens - that is, the Purist Faction - wouldn't be able to prevent it joining the battlefield soon.

That person was none other than the Purist Faction's leader, Jeremiah Gottwald.

In his hot-headed disdain of the situation, Kewell was the first of the three to crack, "Why are we on defense, huh? Zero won't be coming here! It's a waste of our forces!"

"Don't underestimate him, Kewell," Villeta chided. All she got was a grunt in response, to which she answered, "Or do you want to go join the cannon fodder up front?"

"C-cannon fodder?! I could handle some Eleven bastards!" Kewell retorted angrily.

Villeta simply shook her head pitifully, keeper the more rude comments to herself. "What of the Shisei-ken, or that red Frame?"

Jeremiah stopped listening beyond that. He would not allow a momentary bickering amongst his comrades to take away his present glee. He would be free soon, he kept telling himself. Free of the disdain people held toward him for being the first non-royalty to lose to Zero. Free of the guilt he had for having failed Marianne all those years ago.

He felt a faint vibration at his lower leg. Reaching down, he removed his cell phone from his pocket, taking only a moment to look at the ID. He really didn't need to, of course. The time was now.

"I'm here, Orange-kun," Lelouch's voice, along with his codename for his new ally, reverberated through Jeremiah's ears several times before he caught on to what was being said. In his enthrallment of serving Marianne once more, although only in the theoretical sense this time, he'd had several other cases of mental lapses to speak of, unfortunately. Such was his complete joy at the moment.

"Orange proceeding with Phase Four, Lord Zero."

o--o

"It's Zero! He's behind us!"

"He... he's behind us?! How?!"

"A rift has been formed in the Purist Faction! They're attacking eachother! Sir Jeremiah is working with Zero?!"

Clovis took all the new information in stride, hardly surprised by the turn of events. Lelouch knew of Jeremiah's loyalty to Marianne and he was sure to exploit it at some point in time, Clovis admitted, and that was not anyone's fault but his own. But did he regret inadvertently giving Lelouch so much information that was now furthering his own goals? His colder, more self-satisfying side certainly did. But that fell by the wayside when Lelouch was in question, who was more important than, well, just about anyone or anything to Clovis.

"Your orders, sir?"

Clovis didn't answer. And when he didn't answer, they knew the answer. The answer that, for whatever reason, pained Clovis in more than one way. "...Giving the order for the Lancelot to launch now, sir."

o--o

"You're clear for launch, Suzaku," Cecile's caring and almost motherly tone of voice lifted Suzaku's damaged spirits slightly, and he managed a small smile as he muttered 'Launching' in response. Ever since his recent talk with Lelouch, he'd caught himself pondering over the meaning of his friends words more and more. He knew it was foolish to question his ideals. Foolish to suggest that illegal methods were even remotely acceptable. But were Britannia's darwinistic ways really any better than illegal methods? Where was the line drawn between the two?

More importantly, what made Lelouch become so adamant in believing in Zero? Sure, he had once said he wished to destroy Britannia, but it didn't take a genius of Lelouch's caliber to realize time had changed him. His acts of kindness seemed far less forced than Suzaku remembered, and he showed a more than genuine regard for human life. Which was something Zero couldn't quite attest to, Suzaku feared.

"Suzaku, your target is Zero's Gloucester and the rebelling Purist Faction members under Jeremiah," Cecile's voice reminded him smoothly, as if afraid he'd do something drastic were the orders not drilled into his head. It was reasonable to assume so, he admitted sadly, recalling past missions in which his desire to protect civilians had come before his duty. It was all a jumbled mess that had resulted in him being neglected and thrown aside more and more, out of fear that the Eleven pilot would once more do such a thing.

But when the Black Knights were the enemy, Suzaku had no such worries. Strangely - although it was never deliberated amongst those higher up the military chain, Zero always seemed to make sure civilians were never caught in the crossfire. When Zero acted, not one civilian lost their life. Past battle reports even showed divisions of the Black Knights dedicated to ensuring civilian safety.

Perhaps Zero did show regard for human life?

No, he refused to believe that. If that were the case, why would Zero rebel to begin with? Clearly he desired change, but at the cost of so many lives? Although, similarly, was Britannia any better when it came to their conquests? In fact, in the comparison between Britannia and Zero, the latter seemed more humane. So why was Suzaku on Britannia's side? To change it from within, without using methods such as Zero's, he convinced himself.

So why was he in so much turmoil when it boiled down to making that decision?

o--o

"Zero, all their Frames are damaged already! Is it really reasonable to fight them?" one of the Purist Faction members - who clearly valued loyalty to his direct superior over loyalty to the entire chain of command, given that he now took orders from Zero - grudgingly asked. His teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched, only having just finished taking a part in Zero's plan to neutralize Villeta and Kewell, both of whom were now restrained and being held in their respective Frames.

"Fighting them can't be helped. But try your best not to kill them," Lelouch stated cooly, much in contrast to the reply the disgruntled Purist Faction member's had expected. "See if you can convince your allies to change sides, if you feel so inclined. Until the JLF and Black Knights arrive, it's just us out here. The extra firepower will be appreciated."

"What happened to 'emotion will only hold me back'?" C.C. asked from behind him, in her own seat in the cockpit.

Lelouch just stared, no flicker of emotion making itself known on his face, "Being emotionless and having regard for human life are two very different things, C.C.," he stated, eyes showing just a momentary annoyance before he turned about and returned to overseeing the conflict that was unfolding. Jeremiah was leading an ever growing number of Purist Faction members against their allies, who - having taken at least some damage in the Black Knights' rockslide - could do little in retaliation. The fight was not unlike watching a massive slaughter, Lelouch noted sourly, although even his allies were victimized in the rockslide. Jeremiah, Kewell and Villeta seemed to have been the only ones amongst the Purist Faction still with fully operable Frames.

"Oh? Where did a line like that come from?" C.C. retorted, face contorted into something caught between a grin and a smirk, quite vividly showing her amusement.

"...Clovis taught it to me," Lelouch replied, almost sadly. "When we reunited six years ago, he changed considerably. He was still a cold person who valued furthering his own goals no matter what the cost, but he also taught me many things. He taught me that blind vengeance - which had been my original plan - was foolish, and that I was no better than those I sought revenge against if I showed no regard for human life. I suppose you could say that, without him, I'd be no more than what Charles is."

C.C. didn't reply. Not at first, anyway. It hadn't really occurred to her that Lelouch had such surges of emotion that he kept bottled inside, but it intrigued her. His regard for human life didn't particularly matter to her, of course: no matter the path he chose, they'd walk it together. But it was probably a good thing that he was more than a heartless murderer, she theorized. "Why do you take his words to heart. Lelouch? He's your enemy," she pointed out coldly, gazing at the back of his head intently as she awaited a response.

"He's not my enemy," Lelouch growled. "He's my brother. Him, Euphemia, Cornelia... all of them. We may be on different sides, but we're siblings. I won't kill them if it can be helped, witch."

"Orange reporting!" Jeremiah said suddenly, cutting into their conversation unknowingly. "They've all either been neutralized or recruited, Zero. Only three confirmed deaths."

Lelouch visibly relaxed when he heard that, which surprised C.C. further still; it was the first time he'd shown any reaction to people dying since his relieving sessions after the Shinjuku incident. "Good. Take the time to go over the damages to our Frames, and get back to me --"

"-- It's the Lancelot!" one of the troops cried suddenly. Lelouch immediately dropped his initial order and, grabbing his phone from his pocket, quickly sought out Ogi's number in his speed dials and kept his phone at the ready.

"All forces, spread out!" Lelouch ordered, readying himself as well. "Don't lose heart, and follow my orders exactly! We can defeat the Lancelot!" his attempts to raise spirits was met with little success, but he hadn't expected much else.

"Zero spotted," Suzaku said to himself, quietly. "Eliminating the target now, Cecile."

The Lancelot sped toward Lelouch, closing the distance in the blink of an eye and bringing down one of it's MVS swords toward Lelouch's Frame's head. He quickly swerved out of the way, calling out, "All forces, attack from different angles! Keep it boxed in hold out! If it comes toward you, listen to me!" he ordered hastily, slashing his MVS sword toward the Lancelot from the side.

"Are you sure you can handle trying to kill Suzaku?" C.C. asked with a tinge of mirth lacing her words.

"I won't kill him," Lelouch responded cooly, finally hitting the button on his phone to make the call. He pressed the phone to his ear, and as soon as he heard the noise signaling it had been answered on the other side, he said, "This is Zero, Ogi."

"Z-zero! Where are you?!"

"I'm with the Purist Faction near their mobile base. Jeremiah Gottwald is on our side now, as are most of the Purist Faction," Lelouch answered quickly, pulling back as his attack failed, just narrowly avoiding another slash. He probably would have been caught on that one, had it not been for the large number of Sutherlands surrounding the Lancelot, opening fire when the moment proved opportune.

"The... the Purist Faction?" Ogi replied, dumbfounded.

"I'll explain later, Ogi," Lelouch surprised his second-in-command with those words; neither could recall a time when Zero had promised to explain what he did on the side. "I'm currently engaging the Lancelot. How is everything on that front?"

"All in accordance with your plans, Zero. We have them on the run even now. They're moving toward you. Do you want us to do anything else?" Ogi asked, for insurance's sake among other reasons.

"No, continue as you are. But send Karen to reinforce me down here. You go need only push the attack alongside the Japanese Liberation Front," Lelouch ordered firmly. Suzaku closed the distance between them once more, only to be forced to back off as Jeremiah fired toward his landspinners, threatening to bring the Lancelot to a complete halt. Lelouch took the moment to open fire as well, noticing how quickly his power was being drained using the MVS sword. 'Certainly not something to be used continually with the Gloucester,' he noted sadly, now all the more enthused about granting the Black Knights the ability to use such weaponry more freely. Which would be possible with the funding to make use of their Lancelot Club schematics. Although, much as it pained Lelouch to say it, noting the incredible firepower before him, there were more important things to fund.

"I understand."

Lelouch hung up after that, returning the whole of his focus to the Lancelot in front of him. Suzaku charged once again, this time intent on plunging one of his MVS swords straight through Lelouch's Gloucester. Lelouch, however, had no plans for making Narita his gravesite, and swiftly maneuvered out of the thrusting sword's path, firing at the Lancelot's arm from close range, damaging it considerably. Suzaku growled under his breath, more due to the fact that it was Zero of all people to do any considerable damage to him than anything, but wouldn't let that get him down. He immediately turned to attack but was forced away as Jeremiah and several others opened fire, threatening to put Suzaku into a grave of his own.

"Kururugi Suzaku!" Lelouch beckoned, firing at the Lancelot's chest to keep it at bay for as long as possible. Which, noting the exceptionally high performance of the unit, wouldn't be long. "Why do you fight for Britannia?"

"I..." Suzaku tried, distracted by both the hard pressed situation he was in coupled with the aftershock of Zero knowing who he was. That part, among other things, was the biggest shock. "I fight to change Britannia from within! Illegal methods won't work. And you, Zero, are nothing more than a heartless terrorist."

"Is that so?" Lelouch replied bemusedly. Even if it was Suzaku, and he knew the man was as thick as they came, being forced through the same torrent of self-satisfactory speeches of morals, right and wrong, and all the other things Suzaku took pride in believing was nothing short of dreadful to Lelouch. "And by betraying your own people, will you be able to change their fate? Will you be able to give them a future? Tell me, Suzaku Kururugi, do you truly believe such peaceful idealisms will reach the hearts of Britannians?"

"Le-lelouch..." Suzaku muttered, recalling his close friend having asked the exact same of him. "Lelouch asked the same of me, Zero. I'll tell you what I told him," he paused, activating his MSV shields to render the mass of firepower coming at him useless before speeding forward, cutting off one of the arms of Lelouch's Gloucester in a single fluid motion. He aimed to remove the other, but Lelouch quickly pulled his MVS sword out and blocked. "Peaceful methods are the only way to achieve true results! What you're doing, what you seek to accomplish, is nothing more than murder!"

"And what of every number? Will they be left to Britannia's Darwinism? Is it okay to sacrifice their freedom, so long as the Japanese get their's? Where is the justice in that?!" Lelouch cried, enraged. "There is no justice in saving only the Japanese! Even if I must become the devil himself, I, Zero - no, Lelouch Vi Britannia - swear to save all the numbers!" his anger getting the better of him, Lelouch pushed at the Lancelot with every bit of his might. Despite his best efforts, it didn't seem to be enough, and his own sword was forced from his hand, the shock pushing him back at the same time.

"Lelouch?! You're... Zero?!" Suzaku asked, having taken several moments simply to comprehend what had just been said. "But why?! Your enemy is your father! You are fighting your own siblings! Is that your justice?!"

"Suzaku," Lelouch started, calmly. "Are you telling me that I should roll over like Cornelia and Schneizel, and accept Britannia's Darwinism?" Lelouch stalled, grabbing his rifle and pointing it at Suzaku. "I do not wish to fight my siblings. Nor do I want to fight you. But it can't be helped. If you cannot understand Zero's ideals, then we are enemies. And if that is the case, I will not hold back."

"Lelouch..."

"Don't!" Lelouch gasped out, quickly finding it harder to breathe. He didn't know if the heat rising in his cockpit was the cause, or if it was himself trying to hold back his mixture of rage and anger, but if was almost to much to handle. "I don't want your sympathy, Suzaku. I chose this path, knowing what would happen to me. I accepted the gifts I was given, knowing it would make me lonely. I will accept it all, so long as I create a better world. If you would stand in the way of my better world, then we have nothing more to say."

"...I understand," Lelouch looked down at his lap, almost ashamed of what had become of him and Suzaku in only the past few minutes. All the same, however, he prepared to fire, forcing back the pain he felt at the realization that he and his best friend were now trying to kill eachother. Somehow, it was more painful for him when Suzaku knew that it was Lelouch he was trying to kill, rather than Zero.

"Zero! This is the end!" Lelouch whirled about, seeing Kewell - having broken free of his captors - charging at him, rifle poised to fire. As the distance was closed he fired his slash harken, intent on trapping Zero before eliminating him. He was stopped, however, by the Lancelot blocking the way, taking out the head of Kewell's Sutherland before he could get to Lelouch. "Heh, so the Eleven turns traitor. I should've seen it coming," Kewell gasped out before ejecting, clearly having been wounded slightly by the blow.

"Suzaku?!" Lelouch cried out, surprised. Despite his sheer shock, however, he couldn't prevent a victorious smile from gracing his previously scowling face.

"I do not agree with achieving these ends through heartless means, Lelouch," Suzaku told him sternly, not so much as turning the Lancelot to face him. "But if your path makes you lonely, than I will fight by your side. But promise me that you will always take the more humane path, and that you will not become the demon you told me you'd become."

Lelouch pondered that for a moment. Was there really a humane path to creating a worldwide war? He - much as he hated to admit it - didn't know the answer to that. With that thought in mind, he said, "When we find the humane path, I will surely take it, Suzaku."

o--o

"Ah... Stubborn Britannians!" Karen muttered, annoyed. She had received the order to move and assist Zero well over ten minutes ago, but had since been hard pressed as a small squadron of Sutherlands, who seemed to be ignoring the fact that the unified JLF forces and Black Knights had them on the run, decided to assault her. It was a game of cat and mouse as she struck and pulled back repeatedly, finding it hard to find any sort of opening.

"Damn Elevens, thinking they can measure up to us... Everyone! The one who takes down that red Frame will be a hero!" Walker Laurence, leader of the 49th Armored Frame Squadron, cried. The other six Sutherland filed around him, three on each side forming something of a wing. They all charged forward at once, turning in and circling around Karen, effectively trapping her. "Take this, Eleven scum!"

"I don't think so!" Karen retorted, grabbing onto Walker's Sutherland and releasing her _Fukushahado_ waves into it. Walker cried out in sheer agony as his Sutherland heated up, it's outer armor looking as if it were bubbling before the agony became too much and Walker was forced to eject. The damage had been done, however, and his body was completely covered in burns. He lost consciousness as soon as his cockpit reached safety in the distance, out of Karen's sight and out of her mind. Not that she'd be so cold as to attack an ejected cockpit.

The rest, however, were rendered immobile as they witnessed their Colonel being defeated so easily. In their shock they were picked off rather easily, and Karen took to a rather methodical circular movement, taking out each of them one by one. Each was left in nothing more than a flaming heap of metal, the cockpit having been ejected to safety in the surrounding forest. Karen sighed to herself, relaxing her reflexively tensed muscles. Her shoulders immediately cracked despite her attempts to prevent it, and the cracking sound resonated through the cockpit several times before falling dead. The red headed ace winced involuntarily.

"Karen, move to intercept Cornelia," Lelouch's commanding voice said suddenly, causing her to jump much against her will.

"What? But I thought..."

"Situations have changed. I'll explain later," and with that, the communication was cut as abruptly as it had been opened. Karen raised a half bemused, half confused eyebrow before returning her hands to their controls. So long as Zero wanted the same thing he'd told them he wanted - and nobody had reason to believe otherwise - she didn't mind if she was used. It was a little disheartening to think of herself as a tool, but having the Guren at least made herself feel like a more important tool.

But in reality, even she realized that a tool could never be important.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Karen - taking half a moment to read her radar for the most effective way to intercept the Britannian forces before they reached the mobile base - began her continued descent down the side of Narita mountain, ever hopeful that she wouldn't run into more disobeying fame seekers amongst the routed Britannian forces. The last thing she wanted was more carnage, necessary though it may be in the grand scheme of things. The landslide they'd executed had done enough damage. Instead, the extent of the damage she wanted to cause was centered around a single person.

"I'm coming for you, Cornelia," Karen said, smiling to herself. "...For Japan."

Rather than sneezing, as per Japanese superstition, Cornelia growled in rage, for an entirely different reason. With all of ten Sutherlands and four Gloucesters - Darlton, Bart and two of the Royal Knights - Cornelia found it nigh impossible to fend off the seemingly limitless JLF forces mixed with the Black Knights that kept coming forward. Bravery, among other things, had bought them enough time to allow the remainder of their routed forces to retreat, but even that had seemed to be running dry.

"Persistent Elevens!" one of her soldiers cried, shortly before charging forward in what Cornelia could only surmise to be another attempt to prove the Britannians were superior to the Elevens. But all attempts, when faced with the situation they were in, had come to much the same result. "Take this, damned Elevens... agh!" wincing as the knight was forced to eject, that attempt ended no closer to success than the last, Cornelia admitted sourly.

"Don't fight recklessly! We're playing right into Zero's hands if we do that!" Cornelia cried, firing at any Knightmare Frames that came into her line of sight as her own Gloucester moved backwards. "We have to get away from the mountain," she gritted her own teeth in previously hidden rage as she finally admitted defeat. To Zero, of all people.

"But Your Highness," Darlton tried, calm and collected. "Zero attacked from the Narita Settlement itself. The Purist Faction as defected, as has the Lancelot. The mobile base has all been captured."

This made Cornelia snap, among other things. Zero managed to win over the Purist Faction? As troublesome as it was, she had to admit that it would be a good means by which to judge Zero's character. An emotionless leader of Elevens certainly wouldn't have been able to win over the Purist Faction - the very faction dedicated to eradicating Elevens from society - without some other motivation. Much less would he be able to win over the morally driven Suzaku Kururugi - even if he was an Eleven, it was common knowledge amongst the Britannian military that he despised any and all illegal methods to achieving things.

"Your Highness?"

"...We're abandoning the mobile base. Zero's goal wasn't us. He won't pursue."

Judging by the tone of voice, Darlton knew better than to have doubts regarding his princess' judgment. Smiling slightly, he said quietly, his voice full of admiration with a large amount of regret - as a byproduct of the realization that they were leaving Clovis in Zero's hands, "Yes, Your Highness."

o--o

"They're retreating! I can't believe it!"

"Zero made another miracle!"

"Not Zero, you idiot, us! Todo of Miracles created another miracle!"

Cries lost somewhere between sheer shock and overwhelming joy were heard all across Narita mountain as Japanese Liberation Front soldiers and Black Knight members alike cried out their thanks to their respective miracle creators. Several amongst the higher ups in both groups thought to silence them, but opted against it after realizing just how despairing their situation had indeed been at the onset. Soon afterwards, even they joined in, allowing the brief moment of happiness to wash over them.

Lelouch climbed out of his Gloucester inside the mobile base they'd just captured, with Jeremiah and Suzaku doing the same on either side of him, both falling into step with him as he made toward the control room of the mobile base, C.C. trailing just a bit behind Lelouch. Suzaku recognized her immediately after noticing her, and cast a confused glance at Lelouch. He was still put off talking to that mask known as Zero rather than his friend, Lelouch, but shrugged off the feeling. He had enough doubts already, and didn't need the added pressure. Trying to change his thoughts, he said slowly, "She's..."

"The one we found in Shinjuku, yes," he replied, not glancing over at his friend. "Orange-kun, have your men done as I asked?" he glanced to his left and at Jeremiah, who's expression seemed considerably lighter than it had been when they last spoke. He seemed almost... content.

"They have, Zero. But what are we to gain from doing this?" Jeremiah replied, casting an inquisitive glance at Lelouch, trying his best to look at his new superior as the man behind the mask rather than the cold leader that had Britannia putting the vast majority of it's focus on Area 11. The situation was heading in that direction prior to Lelouch's rebellion, he knew, but Lelouch had spiraled things into what he recognized to be the makings of a worldwide war. He couldn't help but wonder, however, if that was Lelouch's aim.

"In time. We have one other guest on his way, and another waiting just ahead," Lelouch needed not explain further, as they entered the control room, C.C. quickly hiding just outside the room. Clovis and several other officials - among which was the captured Villeta Nu - were tied up in the center of the room, surrounded by members of the Purist Faction. Some struggled while others simply closed their eyes and accepted the defeat they'd been handed. Clovis, unsurprisingly to Lelouch, was amongst the latter. "Clovis La Britannia, it's been a while," Lelouch greeted, smiling warmly behind his mask.

"Zero," Clovis responded the gesture, glancing at his masked captor with one analyzing eye. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Zero, why did you call me here?" all eyes but Lelouch's turned to the doorway where Todo stood, his usual bemused expression gracing his slightly aged features.

"Unty them," Lelouch ordered and, although hesitant, the Purist Faction obeyed. "Clovis La Britannia, do not move. The rest of you may leave."

Everyone, even Suzaku, looked at Zero as if he had grown a second head. The captives, realizing the hopeless situation they were in and how impossible it was to save their prince, allowed themselves to be escorted away by the Purist Faction. When they were alone, Lelouch turned to Todo, finally gracing him with acknowledgment of his presence, "It's been a while, Todo," he greeted, holding his hand out.

Confused as he was, Todo accepted it and shook it. "What do you mean, Zero?"

Rather than answering, Lelouch gripped his mask and slowly removing it. Confusion came back full force for a moment before Todo realized who it was he was looking at, and a small smile graced his features before they hardened once more. "So it's you," he said simply and sternly, yet somehow seemed relatively glad at the same time.

"Lelouch..." Clovis started, earning the desired effect of having all eyes turn to him. "What are you planning? Why do all this, just to get to the Japanese Liberation Front? Why attack your family?!"

Lelouch scoffed, stepping away from his half brother, looking at everyone. "I am not attacking my family, Clovis. I am doing what is necessary to change the world. But changing the world through terrorism, Todo, is not right. Which is why you are here," he paused, offering his hand to Todo once more. "Convince your allies to join the Black Knights. Join me in creating Japan's personal army, and join me in creating a new world."

Todo glanced at the hand hesitantly for a moment, before smiling slightly and taking it. "You aren't interested in restoring Japan, are you?" he said, despite the smile on his face. "You're aiming much higher. You're aiming to save all numbers, aren't you?"

"Would saying yes change anything?" Lelouch asked, smirking as their hands withdrew. "A world where the weak are left behind is a relic of a lost age. I want a world of equality. One where people like my sister aren't left behind because they're weak. If, to that end, blood must be shed, I will not hesitate."

o--o

_Things changed dramatically that day. The Order of the Black Knights was no longer looked upon as nothing more than a highly effective terrorist group. With the near doubling of our numbers upon the Japanese Liberation Front merging with the Black Knights, Elevens recognized us as their rightful saviors. Clovis promised his support, and had since begun working to protect inside men such as Diethard, maintaining our access to the public._

_Through Diethard's channel, Suzaku publically revealed himself as the son of Genbu Kururugi and as the pilot of the Lancelot, as well as revealing himself to be Zero's right hand man. That further increased support of the Black Knights, but also had several negative effects. One being the Japanese officials that had fled to the Chinese Federation, requesting asylum with the Black Knights. I'd wanted to decline, but more negative sides to recent changes showed in the form of Suzaku forcing me to grant them asylum._

_Todo was relatively easy to please, placing him in charge of all military operations and drilling our members in their piloting talents. Rakshata had a field day looking over the Gekkas that the Shisei-ken were using before surmising that ace pilots such as them deserved something better, and thus began production of a more energy sucking version of the Katen Yaibatou, which she named the Seidotou._

_All things considered, things were going splendidly. Being recognized as the saviors of the Elevens coupled with having Suzaku in our ranks had us swarming with new recruits, and Tamaki was rather content to be kept so busy. With the ever growing forces of the Black Knights, however, it grew yet harder to maintain secrecy. An answer came, of course, but it was not one I wanted, given current conditions._

_India had begun a war for independance in the Chinese Federation._

--

A few things were out of place here, really, but I opted against expanding on them. Suzaku's current position is an exception of course, given how greatly his views differ from Lelouch's. Expect that issue to be present for a long time to come. And yes, I am sorry to the very many of you who despise Suzaku. But as you can see, the reasons you most likely hate him for are hardly relevant this time around.

Anyway, my plans for this fic were turned back a bit. Main reason being, I didn't want another 10,000+ word chapter, and it would have been if I had included everything. So expect a part two of sorts to be coming next chapter, which I don't mind since, as you have hopefully noticed, means the big Chapter 10 is the one that starts my slowly turning gears of major changes.

And lastly, regarding possible questions regarding Todo and Lelouch's conversation. I had the idea that, although it was never really mentioned, it is assumable that Todo, like Taizo, knew Lelouch when he stayed with the Kururugis. And so, that explains that. I also added Orange this chapter, more as something of a small joke based around the initial intent of the name, but that really deserved nothing more than a footnote.


	10. Conscripted Knights

Here's the big chapter 10. Not all that impressive really, but I am rather proud of myself for reaching it. As per usual I will extend a thanks to all of you who continue to review, and continually hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Also, to lilmonkeychan, I appreciate the review. Not that I don't appreciate all reviews, but the reviews that contained little more than a pat on the back and a request for more were growing. And really, I'm not afraid of a little criticism. So yes, I do appreciate the bit of critique regarding how nice people are so far. And to answer that, yes I do realize there's an evident lack of manipulation and the like in my fic, but do keep in mind that Lelouch is responsible for a great deal of the more manipulative actions present in Code Geass, and in my fic he's noticeably more humane and above such things.

But still, I appreciate the diverging from the typical pat on the back. And as to your selfless request for more LelouchxC.C. I have already promised (or rather, adamantly stated) that it would be as such. But this fic is not a romance fic (or at the very least, has next to no elements of romance at this point in time), and so if you're looking for romance this isn't the place. That's not to say it won't be there, but it most certainly won't be the primary focus at any point in time. Perhaps a secondary focus later on, but that's a very strict maybe. I have everything but the finest details planned, after all.

And lastly, I might as well throw in a disclaimer for good measure while we're at it, so no I do not own the vast majority of the characters in this fic, nor do I own Code Geass itself.

--

_It had happened._

_As I assumed from the moment Henry told me, India sent a representative kindly asking that we lend our support in their battle. They must have been riding on the assumption that we would, given that without us there was absolutely no hope for them to win their independence. Todo had wondered why they would send for our aid, when that could potentially put them in our debt and worsen things in the future, but the answer was simple: they had no worries._

_We were able to fight because of them, simply put. So when we, using what they supplied us with, became a full fledged army capable of contending with Cornelia and winning, it was reasonable to assume they'd use us as a simpler means to win their independence. The bad side to it was that, much as we disliked it, they had won. We did have an obligation to fight for them, and that meant we'd be fighting with nothing to gain._

_But Todo assured everyone that I'd manage to make this profitable for us. And I would. The only problem that remained was how to get away from Ashford, and I'd already figured out how to do that. A double was a risky move to say the least, but it would keep me safe over in India. The only problem that remained was Britannia following us and attacking, but that couldn't be helped. With them in negotiations with the Chinese Federations, facing them on our new stage would be unavoidable._

o--o

The sounds of waves crashing and breaking on all sides were the only lapses in the unbearable silence on the ship. People simply sat in their rooms, lost in thought about whatever insecurities they had developed. Black Knights members had more than a few complaints about the Lancelot's pilot fighting alongside them and, worse yet, outranking many of them as both 1st Field General and 2nd Zero Soldier. Karen held the rank of 1st Zero Soldier, both having much the same distinction in the Black Knights as the Knights of Rounds of Britannia. They were outranked only by Todo, who rested high and mighty as the Head of Military Affairs. Despite all the complaints, however, Zero had successfully reasoned with them, saying that he was an Eleven dedicated to their cause through and through.

And, much as some of them hated it at times, the fact that Zero's word was law had yet to change.

Of all the Black Knights outside of Zero's inner circle, only Ogi could safely say he had nothing to complain about. Suzaku Kururugi was the son of their last Prime Minister, so he couldn't say it wasn't fitting for him to fight with them. In the case of Jeremiah, Ogi left it down to something he could trust Zero with. Things seemed no less out of control than they had - in fact, things seemed even more stable now, so Ogi had no real complaints.

He just wished Zero would trust his allies more.

The masked leader himself was currently seated in his officer aboard the flagship of the Black Knights' three transport ships, overseeing the transfer of the army's Frames to Haikou City, where Todo was already waiting with the majority of the Black Knights, reasoning that, so long as they didn't act, taking control of the city was advantageous to their mission. Lelouch had initially been skeptical, hoping instead to make straight for the east coast and make a solitary march on the capital from there, but Todo had reasoned that working at least somewhat cooperatively with India's own forces was more advisable. And, although they could manage otherwise, Lelouch opted to take such a course in order to avoid possible disapproval from India, and had already reformed his plans accordingly.

"Why Haikou City?" C.C. asked, leaning over Lelouch's shoulder and staring down at the laptop screen in front of him. "The Hainan Strait divides Haikou City from the mainland, after all. That makes beginning an offense from there rather hard, doesn't it?" she leaned in slightly closer, feeling the oh so familiar interest in her partner's deep plans returning. Her partner was an intriguing person, after all.

"On the surface, one would think so," Lelouch replied, turning his head to look at C.C. with a blank expression. "But the Chinese Federation has been focusing it's military on keeping up with Britannia's constant advances, and their Gan-Ru models are almost incapable of fighting aboard ships due to their irregularity. As such, naval conflicts will be almost entirely one-sided in our favor."

"That doesn't explain why Hainan Island is a good base of operations," C.C. deadpanned, arching a solitary eyebrow.

"The near entirety of their forces are centered around Lhasa, preparing to fight India's forces along the border. If Hainan Island is under our administration, they will be forced to divide their forces. And, many as they are, they can't hope to fend off a pincer assault," Lelouch explained, smirking victoriously.

"Aren't you being just a little arrogant? What if they have some ace you aren't aware of?" C.C. shot back, returning the smirk.

"If they had such a person, their continued attempts at a peaceful takeover of Area 11 wouldn't be necessary," Lelouch quipped, turning to face the screen again. "Besides, I'm sure he's..."

"...No match for you?" C.C. finished, laughing. "That arrogance may get you killed some day, boy."

"So long as we have our contract, you won't allow that to happen, witch."

C.C. conceded to that fact with an agitated 'humph', retreating back to her bed and allowing Lelouch to return the whole of his focus to his work. Such peace was short lived as a knock on the door disrupted both, and Lelouch quickly reached over for his mask, asking quickly, "Who is it?"

"Suzaku."

Lelouch removed his hand from his mask, telling Suzaku to enter. The brown haired pilot strode in determinedly, arms folded against his chest, staring down at his friend. "We'll be reaching Haikou shortly, and the men on duty are requesting your... orders," his voice carried a trace of disdain, still trying to get acquainted with the current situation. It was only recently he'd learned his best friend was Zero, and it had been at that same time that his beliefs had been shattered down, leaving him no more than a shell, blindly following Lelouch. Lelouch noticed all this, and had wracked his brain many times over how to solve his friend's pain, but had yet to come to a solid conclusion.

"Man their current posts. As soon as we dock, Ogi is to sort them into two groups, exchanging between holding watch and unloading the Frames and readying them for transport," Lelouch answered stoically. Suzaku simply nodded, turning and leaving as abruptly as he had came. Lelouch sighed, running a quivering hand down his face, allowing the hair that got trapped between his fingers to linger over his face.

"You feel bad, don't you?" C.C. sat up in bed, smirking greedily. "Feel bad that you took away his ideals? His reason for fighting? It's no better than having killed him, to you, is it?"

A growl escaped from the back of Lelouch's throat and he groaned, slumping back in his seat. "He still isn't sure whether or not he's making the right decision. I'll win him over soon," he answered snidely, glad C.C. couldn't see the despairing look in his eyes, betraying his words.

But somehow, it was as if she could feel that it was there, "You don't fully believe that," she quipped, standing up. "You're beating yourself up for doing this to him, though. But wasn't it necessary, to eliminate a powerful foe?"

"It was," Lelouch's head lolled to one side, collapsing into the grasp of his right hand. "I will keep going, no matter what. But if the Power of the King is so lonely," he dared a glance back at C.C., smirking. "I'll escape that sad future."

o--o

"Take that group to Transport Three!"

"No, not there! Over there!"

"Agh, look. No, don't do that!"

Ogi was running to and fro along the docks, trying as best he could to safely prepare everything for transport to the Black Knights' base in Haikou City. It had been a long journey overseas and people were understandably unaccustomed to sold ground again, but the amount of mistakes was growing to be ridiculous. He groaned, running a hand down his face, "Pick it up, guys! Before Zero sees --"

"-- Sees what, Ogi?" Ogi took a step back, turning ever so slowly toward the ship where Zero himself was disembarking, Karen and Suzaku on either side of him. "Is there something I shouldn't be seeing?"

"Z-zero..." Ogi calmed himself, sighing heavily. "Nothing. There are simply unexpected issues getting used to solid ground again, is all, and it's prolonging things slightly."

"So long as everything is under control," Lelouch turned, proceeding further down the dock, Suzaku and Karen still in tow. As soon as they were safe from view he pulled his mask off, looking at both of them sternly. Karen felt sweat forming on her forehead, and quickly wiped at it with an idle hand, eyes not leaving her leader. Her leader that had such trust in her to reveal his identity, sitting and intently listening to all her rants about him lying to her. Through it all he had just smiled and taken it in, and her respect for her leader seemed to have doubled as a result.

"What is it, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked in caring indifference.

"Sayoko is keeping me posted with changes in Ashford, and Nunnally has been placed under Clovis' care. I will be needing you two to return to Ashford as soon as we've solidified this area. I have taken it upon myself to secure your safety Karen," he grinned inwardly at that, recalling having used Geass on her family vividly. "But keeping up Sayoko's pretense will be easier if you two return from time to time."

Karen looked puzzled, whereas Suzaku simply nodded, "What do you mean, Lelouch...?" she asked skeptically, frowning. "What did you do to 'secure my safety'?"

"Perhaps I'll tell you someday," and with that he pulled his mask on again, disappearing around the corner with Suzaku following. Karen frowned before doing the same, intent now on learning her leader's well hidden secrets.

o--o

"As suspected, Zero has left for India. Given his current movements, it can be theorized that he is targeting Hainan Island," Zhao Hao, a large, rotund man by any and every definition of the word, said. "They cannot be aloud to regroup with India's forces! Those curs are putting up enough of a fight already!"

"But what can be done?" Cheng Zhong, the opposite of Zhao Hao in nearly every aspect, asked almost immediately. 'Hmms' and other such noises followed as all fell into deep thought, save for one in particular. He stood towering over many in the room as he stood behind his Tianzi, a look of seeming indifference on his face. The Tianzi's bodyguard, Li Xingke, had already determined in his mind how to solve the situation, but had resolved not to lend such knowledge to the High Eunuchs.

As both her bodyguard and a Commander of the Chinese Federation's forces, coupled with an undying loyalty to her, he would never grant them such knowledge.

"If Hainan Island falls to Zero, we'll be undone!" Gao Hai cried, and all cringed involuntarily at his high pitched voice. "General Cao is a fine leader to be sure, but our forces can't fight the Black Knights as well! They are strong enough to contend with Britannia!"

"Britannia is on good terms with us as of late," Huang Qian, eldest of the Eunuchs, said sternly. "What if we were to ask them for aid?"

"Absolutely not!" Xia Wang, a tall, bestacled man of the High Eunuchs said. His face showed the same trace amounts of fear that they all held, but never would he openly show such fear unless situations grew increasingly dire. Despite such fear, he opposed Britannia's aid openly, saying, "If we win this war on our own, the people's confidence in us will increase ten fold!"

"Why do we care for such things?" Li Xingke twitched in annoyance at the condescending voice of Cai Lishi, but hid his disdain behind his indifference. "The ants beneath us are nothing."

"But plague has ravaged us for a long time, and our chance to reach the heights of nobility has not yet come. We have a better chance to reach such heights if we regain their faith," Huang Qian shot back understandingly. As one the Eunuchs nodded in agreement. "Is this in accordance with your will, Tianzi?" he asked, turning to regard his Empress with a scowl.

"I..." she stuttered lamely, trying to formulate a coherent response. She glanced back at Li Xingke hesitantly, who simply nodded and smiled at her warmly before his face returned to it's initial indifference, looking over the power hungry Eunuchs again; it was not unreasonable to believe that they had no innocent intentions when they spoke of nobility, unfortunately.

"Please, Tianzi, this is for the safety of our country!" Gao Hai cried in a shrill voice, feigning genuine care.

"Yes..." Li Xingke visibly scowled as the Tianzi surrendered to their will yet again, but turned his head immediately to hide it.

"Good," Huang Qian concluded, smiling greedily. "Then all that remains is how we can handle the situation on our own. Any ideas?"

"Our forces are many, but they are few on Hainan Island. Moreover, our navy is no match for Zero's. We should allow him to take Hainan Island, but fortify Zhanjiang and hold them there! So long as they cannot cross the Hainan Strait, we may deal with them and India as we please!" Zhao Hao suggested, smiling slyly.

All nodded their agreement, their hearts' desires for nobility put to rest. Britannia would recognize them soon.

o--o

"Zero has left Area 11?! But brother Lelouch said..."

"Lelouch is smart indeed," Clovis replied, smiling warmly. "But Zero simply can't be predicted, it seems."

"But..." Nunnally stuttered, grasping tightly onto Clovis' hand. "Lelouch said Zero was going to make things better in Area 11! Was he... wrong?" Nunnally's hands loosened slightly, awaiting a response.

The muscles in Clovis' hand clenched for a moment, and it didn't go without notice on Nunnally's part, "I'm sure he will, Nunnally."

"Shouldn't you be worried? Zero has defeated Britannia, and..." Clovis frowned at the ever persistant half-sister in front of him but, like many, couldn't find it in him to be mad. Instead he took a step back, ignoring Nunnally's outstretched hands searching for his warmth once more, and turned his back to her.

"Everything is under control, Nunnally. Lelouch just wanted you to stay here because he was a potential target for the Black Knights. Please understand."

"Brother Lelouch was?! But why?" Nunnally asked, genuinely shocked.

"The Order of the Black Knights are terrorists, but they're also very powerful. Britannia wouldn't leave them alone given the opportunity to do otherwise, and taking Lelouch hostage is the easiest way to stop us, if only temporarily," with that, Clovis left, shutting Nunnally out entirely.

As soon as he was free from her prying, a lone tear ran down his cheek.

o--o

"Keep attacking on that front. Send Nagisa with a tact squad of Burai to attack from the west, and take that wall," Lelouch said into his mic sternly, smiling behind his mask. It had been just a week since the Black Knights had 'forcefully' negotiated their control of Haikou City, and had since gone on to rid half of the island of Chinese Federation forces. Neighbouring cities - Chengmai, Wenchang, and Dingan - had already submitted to their show of force, fleeing over the Hainan Strait by the time Lelouch had docked. The more bold of Chinese Federation forces had forded at Qiongzhong, intent on delaying the Black Knights. With no Knightmare Frames a solid defense was impossible, but the tactful delay told Lelouch all he needed to know: The Eunuchs thought a solid defense on the north coast of the Hainan Strait would hold him back.

"But the west wall is the best defended. Attacking from there..." Todo frowned as he dodged wall turrets again, ducking behind one of their deployed barricades.

"...Would take the enemy completely by surprise. A strong enemy is nothing to fear if they aren't prepared," Lelouch finished, reciting one of the principal rules of war. Todo muttered his agreement, clearly distracted by the battle at hand. Lelouch nodded to himself as he removed the headset, turning immediately to Suzaku, who had been sitting behind him rather impatiently for some time.

"Shouldn't we be out there too?" Suzaku asked, slightly downcast. "I feel like a coward, sitting here while our allies are fighting such a battle... may I move to their aid?"

"No," Lelouch deadpanned, frowning. "The High Eunuchs are self-centered fools, but if there's one think they're good at, it's pouncing on any advantageous situation. If we left Haikou unguarded, they would move immediately, and we'd be held up trying to retake the north side of this island. With India waiting for us, we can't afford to be delayed," he explained, Suzaku nodding in reluctant agreement the whole way.

"Is this necessary?" Suzaku asked immediately after, changing the subject. Lelouch raised both brows in question, to which Suzaku replied, "All this fighting, I mean. We're killing a lot of people, aren't we?"

"We are," Lelouch agreed, nodding. "But it's necessary. War is never waged with such sympathy in mind, Suzaku," Lelouch said sternly, narrowing his eyes. "Think it's a tragic thing if you will, but death and rebirth is a necessity in this world. That is an ideal of Britannia that I won't dispute."

Suzaku frowned, "But such a cold thing..."

"Trying to change the world without staining your hands is pointless, Suzaku," Lelouch shot back immediately, scowling. "There is no crime in staining your hands with the blood of those who's hands are stained. It is retribution. Retribution for years of self-indulgence," Lelouch smirked as he spoke, taking some amusement in the conflicting emotions on Suzaku's face.

"But taking such retribution against the Chinese Federation..." Suzaku still remained unconvinced, much to Lelouch's annoyance. Masking that annoyance, Lelouch chuckled to his friend.

"Are you saying they are undeserving of it? The Black Knights were created to protect the weak, Suzaku. The people, shoved into the ground by poverty and famine, are such people. It is the duty of the Black Knights to save them," Suzaku smiled a bit against his will, meeting Lelouch's eyes.

"You want to... save these people?" Suzaku asked, hopeful.

Lelouch glared indignantly, "More than anything," irritability gripped tightly at his chest, tugging at his heavy heart. Heavy with the burdens he carried, never laying a single one down since first lifting them. Sweat formed on his brow, quickly cooling to the steady air flowing in through the office's many - six, he had counted idly on more than one occasion - windows. "The weak should _never_ be looked down upon, Suzaku. I will not accept such thoughts in the hearts of my allies."

Suzaku smiled wider, if only slightly, as all his worries were swiftly pushed to the back of his mind. A strong gust of wind set aside his bangs, but he payed them no mind. "I want to change the world. If your definition of changing the world is such a thing, I have no further complaints," despite his glee he spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, not willing to break the formalities such a situation would require in the environment he was accustomed to until only recently.

"Drop the formalities," Lelouch quipped, noticing this immediately. Suzaku jumped at the slightly harsh tone in Lelouch's voice, but nodded dumbly and straightened himself. "Send Rakshata in. I have business to speak of with her."

Suzaku departed, and Lelouch slouched into his seat, grasping his head firmly with his hand as he often enjoyed doing. The wind continued to course through the room unhindered, adding in a low whistling every so often. Just as relaxation began to take him in, however, the door was knocked at rather loudly. "Only Rakshata," Lelouch muttered, having long since taken note of her rather disrespectful attitude in general. "Come in," he said louder, more than enough for her to hear.

"Well, it isn't very often you call for me!" Rakshata declared haughtily as she burst through the door, her usual smirk still firmly in place. "I presume you're absolutely ecstatic to hear about the progress on my new babies?"

"If you would be so kind," Lelouch replied, annoyance clearly dripping off his every word. Rakshata took it in stride as she always did, smirking still.

"Engineers in India are already working on expanding into the Flight Unit technology, following Britannia firmly. I've recently finished putting final touches on my own recent research into the Gefjun Disturber technology which, with any luck, will be included in the Hakumei," she explained in her own summarized manner, leaving out unnecessary details for Lelouch's convenience. Not knowing everything irked him slightly but he was sure he would have failed to understand most of it anyway. He certainly wasn't a Knightmare Frame expert.

Then some thing came back to mind and he blinked once, then twice, before asking, "The Hakumei?"

"A follow up on the success of the Guren Nishiki. It incorporates several experimental _Fukushahado_ technologies that we have just recently put into the testing stages, such as a long barreled _Fukushahado_ cannon, as well as _F_ukushahado shields on the chest and both legs, making it leaps and bounds ahead of the Guren Nishiki in the area of defense. It also includes the MVS Lance that we recovered from the blueprints of the Lancelot Club, making it the finest in long range capabilities. And lastly, for your convenience, is the head - identical to the head on your custom Gloucester," Rakshata explained, grinning all too gleefully as Lelouch took it all in.

"I take it that isn't all you have, though," Lelouch stated, clearly impressed as he noticed the proud twinkle in Rakshata's eyes.

"You know me well. But of course, there is more. A flagship for your lovely forces is already in production. The Hogosha is the best our technology can offer at this time. It uses the same _Fukushahado_ cannon technology as the Hakumei, allowing for firepower superior even to Britannia's still incomplete Hadron technology. It is mounted with the Gefjun Disturber as well as immunities to the Disturber's effect on the ship itself. But because these Disturbers draw their power from the ship rather than an independant power source, they only greatly hinder the movement of all Knightmare Frames, rather than immobilizing them. These include our own, but with them being deployed, this shouldn't be a constant issue. I could include immunities on our own Frames, but doing so would require a month without anything to fight with, which I'm sure you can agree is not a good idea."

"Indeed," Lelouch nodded, watching intently from the safe confines of his mask. "Continue."

"It can double as a naval ship, due to it's unexpectedly low mass and powerful propulsion systems, and it includes a unique spinning form of slash harken which can be aimed and used either as a weapon or as anchors, although they lose their effectiveness as the latter when under attack due to the weak hold they have," she continued to explain, nodding her head proudly as she finished. "Engineers in the homeland are calling these thank yous for you accepting our call for aid, but in truth they've been in production for some time. The Hakumei will be completed by the time we've regrouped with India."

o--o

_Things continued to get better from there. Todo orchestrated a stunning victory at Qiongzhong, and the rest of the island was free of Chinese Federation forces within the next few days. A show of kindness was put on as we gave all the captured supplies - that we didn't need, though we never said such a thing - to the people of the island, lending what aid we could in their climb from poverty. It was a tough thing, orchestrating a bloody war in the Chinese Federation and lending a warm heart to the needy people at the same time, but there were people of past ages who had done so, and I was certain I could as well._

_Support of the Black Knights in the Chinese Federation skyrocketed with the televised report of our generosity on Hainan Island, and soon people were flocking in from all corners of the nation to be under our protection. Suzaku had smiled warmly at me when he saw this, and I - refusing to let the wishes of the weak go unheard - ended up diving into our own personal supplies to aid them. We were functioning fine regardless, and nobody had any complaints. In fact, many saw their masked leader in a better light for such a deed. The possibility of smaller meals while on the battlefront didn't seem to cross their mind._

_And with that, all the conditions were cleared for a war of massive proportions in the Chinese Federation. The Black Knights finally had a land to call their own, if only temporarily, and we had the ground needed to fight. So long as they didn't pick things up, the High Eunuchs shouldn't have been hoping to be in office - or even alive - for much longer. The Black Knights officially declared war on the Chinese Federation, and set sail over the Hainan Strait._

--

And so concludes chapter 10. I made several notices regarding my break, but it seemed I regained my resolve faster than I thought. All the same, sorry for the long wait, and I hope this makes up for it. Great deal of non-Canon events happening now, and the only part I frowned on when proofreading was the scene between Clovis and Nunnally, but my obvious inability to write Nunnally clearly hasn't changed.

And about Li Xingke. I know he's only a commander in Code Geass, but I thought it was almost too fitting for him to be Tianzi's bodyguard. Plus, I needed to introduce him because he'll be important later, and I had no other way to do it. So yeah, there's that explanation.

Also, some (although few) may be wondering about the names of the Knightmare Frame and new ship I introduced. Hakumei means twilight (I'm sure that gives a small and subtle hint to who will pilot it), whereas Hogosha means either Guardian or Protector. Take your pick; each are equally fitting.

Until next time!


	11. The Road to Conquest

And now we are off into the second chapter of the Black Knights/India invasion of the Chinese Federation! I'm growing increasingly pleased with my work as we go along, although I believe this chapter itself is nothing short of dreadful. It's poorly put together and it kind of bounces all over the place, but with how I have everything for the next few chapters planned I couldn't exactly change things around. That aside, I still believe that all of this brings testament to my belief that I write better when I'm writing about something I love. And I always have been a war fanatic. No, not the type who loves the violence of it all. But I'm the one you'd find on Wikipedia for hours, reading about various battles for no real reason.

We'll conveniently ignore that this chapter contradicts that entire theory.

Anyway, to those who are wondering, I'm expecting the Chinese Federation war to be over somewhere around chapter 17. As I said I have most details planned out, but dividing them into chapters isn't an endeavour I've yet attempted. And so if you're disliking how things are playing out right now, well, you have some idea of how much longer you're to suffer. That is, of course, unless you stop reading entirely. Heh. This is all I really have to say about the chapter itself, but there was something else I realized recently.

The entire timeline of the first season of Code Geass is less than a month and a half, with the battle in Shinjuku being on August 10th and the battle over the Tokyo Settlement taking place sometime in September. While reasonable as a whole, I found that timeline to be extremely short. As such, the Narita battle in my fic would be taking place at roughly the same time as the Tokyo Settlement battle (episodes 24+25, I mean), and as said in the beginning it started two weeks earlier than it did initially. It doesn't matter all that much, I admit, but it does give you some perspective on the timeline.

Last chapter was the last time I'll be putting in a disclaimer, by the way. If I get harassed for it after now I'll add it into the summary. But I won't include it here anymore, because it's just a waste of my time. Also, glad to see someone picked up on my (admittedly horrible) catchphrase joke. I just kind of realized that I'd been unintentionally adding that same thing at the end of my chapters for some time.

--

"Drop the 3rd Burai squad! Sutherland squads one and two, remain in position!" Lelouch ordered, safe and secure from his watchful position. As per usual Karen and Suzaku were behind him, this time in the Guren and the Lancelot respectively however. Down below was the city of Zhanjiang, lost in the conflict the Chinese Federation had brought upon themselves. Women and children could be seen every so often rushing from the city in order to escape the carnage, although their worries were unfounded. Lelouch had strict orders that civilian protection was to be high on their list of priorities while fighting.

The Burais that had been floating above the city were dropped, and screeching was heard almost immediately as they rushed to join the conflict. Even from their distance Lelouch could see the streets literally swarming the Gun-Ru, who seemed to have the upper hand despite the surprise nature to the Black Knights' assault. "Suzaku, Karen, charge! When they arrive, Sutherland squads one and two are to join them! Pincer their forces!"

The battle, like all before it when Zero was on the battlefield, played out exactly according to Lelouch's plans. Just three hours later the whole of the Chinese Federation forces at Zhanjiang had surrendered, retreated or been routed, and restoring peace in the city was well underway. People rejoiced as they saw the Gloucester all recognized to be Zero's personal frame entering the city, some going as far as to drop to their hands and knees before the Gloucester in respect. In the further parts of town the Frames were already being loaded onto the G-1 bases that had been - although with no small amount of effort - brought overseas with them.

Hours later, Lelouch sat in his quarters aboard his G-1 base once again, reading through casualty reports Diethard had filed for him. Damage to their own side had been within his predicted range, which was more than acceptable given their abundance of Frames. And with a straight supply line from India over the South China Sea, they had already received two additional shipments since docking at Haikou, with a third expected within the next few days.

C.C. had long since surrendered to exhaustion and had collapsed rather unceremoniously onto her bed as soon as they had arrived. She had only recently ceased her rather annoying mutterings of pizza, and nothing more than soft sighs of contentment came from her ever so slightly parted lips. It had been thought of as melodic by Lelouch when he'd first noticed it, but he had since reverted to a rather stubborn unawareness of it... with slightly reddened cheeks. He so very much wished he could banish his inexperience with female company to the fires of hell at that particular moment.

Next he brought up personal records he had been making of the fight waging on along the India border. They had been so kind as to grant him the full extent of their technological savvy in order to allow him to analyze the situation, and their savvy seemed to be more than enough. "Still at a standstill... their leaders must be well matched," he remarked scanning his eyes over the many images and files before him.

"What are you muttering about?" C.C. asked with a yawn, sitting up in bed and stretching.

"The Chinese Federation are fighting better than I expected," he stated bluntly, leaning back and stifling a yawn. "We'll have to move faster."

"Where are we right now?" C.C. asked innocently, snickering in the back of her mind for how childlike she sounded.

Lelouch didn't answer, instead returning his focus to his work. It had been a ritual of sorts for them to talk over things to come in such a manner, not unlike their companionable talks safely within the confines of Lelouch's room back home. He smiled as he recalled it. It wasn't that long ago, perhaps, but he'd come a long way since then. The days of tactful attacks from nowhere had passed, and they'd graduated into an army - a small army, but that didn't matter - that now found itself crossing through foreign territory, fighting with a world superpower. To many, such a thing would sound like little more than a distant fairytale. But Lelouch had done it - he had turned a small terrorist force into an army capable of fighting the Chinese Federation.

Lelouch closed his laptop, ignoring C.C.'s raised eyebrow as he made for his bed, not changing out of his outfit and not removing his mask as he lay down, head propped up against the headboard. "Keep a watch," he said stoically, taking no notice of the irritated look C.C.'s arched eyebrow had been replaced with.

He awoke hours later to the sound of feet rushing to and fro in front of his door, panic clearly apparent. He stole a glance in C.C.'s direction who frowned and said nothing, taking her own form of revenge. He stood up, straightening out his slightly wrinkled outfit before making toward the hallway. He stopped the first person to run by, feeling the man begin to feel nervous in the sole presence of their masked leader, "Calm down. What's going on?" he asked in that fear inspiring commanding tone that made cold sweat form on the back of the necks of many.

"A-ah…" the man stumbled to get his words straightened under the scrutiny of Zero's stare. "The Chinese Federation have attacked! Sir Todo has ordered that everyone prepare to deploy!"

Lelouch growled almost inaudibly, nodding a wordless thanks before turning on his heel and back into his room. He sat and threw open his laptop harshly, starting it up. It blinked to life in mere seconds, and he immediately opened the comm. network they'd set up - despite no small amount of work - into his laptop with the rest of the mobile bases, and his view of his desktop was replaced moments later with Todo's face, scowling.

"What happened?" Lelouch asked, not wasting any time. Todo almost dared a smile at this revelation; he never was one for small talk.

"Seems the Eunuchs managed to gather together enough supplies to muster together another army. Sensors have picked up a large force just over the eastern hills," Todo explained quickly, immediately turning around to reinforce orders to people in the command center.

"They wouldn't send their forces out so far away from the Forbidden City, unless…"

"...They were completely confident that they would win. And that doesn't mean anything good for us," Todo finished. "Suzaku has taken command of the forces currently out there, and Karen is supporting our forces. But just the vanguard of this force alone has them struggling to keep up. Already we've had to pull back twice due to the amount of energy the unending conflict is wasting."

"Have my Gloucester ready to launch. We cannot afford to lose here," Lelouch ordered, shutting his laptop. "Come on, C.C.," he said impatiently, making toward the doorway. He turned back when she made no move to follow him, and raised an eyebrow. "They know you're my 'personal confidant'. There's no reason to hide out here," he remarked dryly.

"What do you want to come from all this bloodshed?" C.C. asked, ignoring his remark. Lelouch's eyes widened for a moment and his mouth opened slightly, teeth biting down harshly on his lower lip. The question was dismissed as quickly as it had been registered, however, and Lelouch smirked.

"I don't want to hear a question like that from someone like you," Lelouch shot back somewhat playfully, opening the door. "Now come on."

o--o

"Zero isn't an idiot!" Gao Hai scoffed, glaring. "Why are we attacking head on?! He's turned sure defeat into victory! He's defeated Princess Cornelia! He's not someone who can be underestimated, Xingke!"

"He also over thinks thing," Xingke replied immediately, scowling. "A simple strategy will keep him thinking he's got the upper hand, and then we turn the tables," he explained. It was a well formed plan, he thought. Zero took pride in being able to outsmart anyone he fought, it seemed. As such, he was bound to make mistakes once he found someone who could think on a level equal to his own. And Xingke was eager to test that theory.

"But such a strategy…"

"My authority is granted by the Tianzi. I have no obligation to take orders from you, Gao Hai," Xingke growled, turning around. "Send in the second wave! Don't give them a chance to breathe! Send in the 1st Tact Squad! Attack them from the side!"

o--o

"Using sheer numbers to keep us fighting... how simplistic," Lelouch drawled, smirking as he took out three Gun-Ru effortlessly with his MVS, relishing in the simplicity of doing so as he pulled back, two Burai taking his place, holding the masses at bay. Lelouch carefully aimed in the gap between the two Burai, taking out one of the Gun-Ru with his rifle. "Todo, what's the situation further ahead?"

"Most of their forces are still camped over the hill. They've sent their second wave out, as well as what seems to be a tact force. They're trying to drive us back!"

"No," Lelouch deadpanned, retaking his place at the front and pushing his MVS through a Gun-Ru. He tugged the MVS to the side, swinging the now pilotless Frame to the side, knocking into two others. While they were regaining their senses he replaced his sword with his rifle and fired, taking them out before pulling back again. This time Suzaku took his place, charging forward and cleaving a line through the Gun-Ru before pulling back and forming a blockade again.

"No?" Todo questioned, genuinely confused.

Lelouch smirked, "The Chinese Federation does indeed have a decent commander."

"What are you talking about, Zero?"

"The moves are simplistic, but they're too perfectly executed. Their commander wants us to think he's incapable and lure us into a false sense of superiority, and then turn the tables. Keep a close eye on the tide of the battle, and we'll play his game for now."

o--o

"The second wave is taking heavy casualties!" one man reported, clearly distressed.

"It must be the Guren and the Lancelot! We can't compare with them!" several murmurs of agreement followed, and Gao Hai gritted his teeth at the show of complete hopelessness in the command center.

"Xingke! You had better fix this!" he cried, furious.

"I don't take orders from you, Gao Hai. Remember that," Xingke remarked through gritted teeth. "Keep up the assault. Have Squad 4 pull back and have Squad 7 take their place. Keep alternating as necessary. They're playing right into our hand," he ordered, smirking victoriously.

"More have launched! Four, five... no, ten signals detected! On screen reports are showing all Burai!"

"Those Seventh Generation Indian inventions…" Xingke sighed, rubbing his temples. "No matter. Experience won't save them this time."

The battle waged on just over the hill, with the Black Knights putting up every bit of defence Xingke had expected. But he still had them right where he wanted them, and wasn't about to let a few casualties stop him. He was a caring commander, to be sure, but the Chinese Federation forces were built around the ability to win through sheer numbers. And the Black Knights, vastly more experienced as they were, wouldn't overcome such a thing.

o--o

"They're trying to preserve fighting strength, hmm?" Lelouch remarked, finding an unexpected amount of enjoyment at fighting such a worthy foe. "Todo, deploy all remaining forces. Eliminate them before they can pull back!" Lelouch ordered, taking an equally unexpected move and boldly charging forward, sweeping at a Gun-Ru and hooking into it's side, and with a little extra effort pushed in further, forcing the pilot to eject, laughing somewhat manically all the while. He turned and pushed his MVS through another, joined immediately by his allies, pushing the mass of Gun-Ru back.

"Don't get carried away, Lelouch," C.C. said dryly from behind him, adjusting her legs in an unsuccessful attempt to escape the lack of leg space. Lelouch gave nothing more than a drawn out 'Hmm' in response, quickly pulling back when his clear inexperience in piloting got the better of him, muttering curses the whole way.

"Zero, there's too many! Power levels are starting to run low!" Todo reported through Lelouch's headset. Lelouch checked his own battery. pleased to know he wasn't suffering the same problem. But it was sure to become an issue soon.

Lelouch cursed rather loudly, but wasn't about to get ahead of himself. He had to admit, he was underestimating the Gun-Ru a little bit. Ineffective as they were, sheer number made them quite troublesome. Not troublesome enough to actually have his forces in any danger of an imminent defeat, but the drawn out conflict was taking it's tole on them. "Those in need of it, retreat and get a fresh battery. Those not in need of it, come with me! Drive a wedge into their forces!"

The Black Knights charged forward on his word, reforming into an arrowhead. They clashed fiercely into the center of the line of enemy forces. It took a lot of effort and shifting around, but they managed to break through, pushing through the center of the enemy lines. Before long they were completely divided, both sides taking heavy casualties as they fought to regroup.

Lelouch smirked the whole way, the word 'Check' running constantly through his mind. He would bring out every bit of this commander's talent before his army's power ran out, and then crush this commander and break the spirit of the Chinese Federation.

o--o

"It's a wedge formation!"

"Massive casualties are being taken!"

"We can't continue to hold them back! They're too strong!"

"They're using a wedge formation…" Xingke sighed, watching the situation intently. "Zero is indeed a genius."

"What do you mean, Xingke?! We have him right where we want him, don't we?!" Gao Hai cried, enraged.

"Indeed," Xingke smirked. "Deploy the 2nd Tact Squad, and have all our forces pull back. Once they reach the base of the hill, we proceed with Phase 4."

That quickly proved itself to be a bad move. The Gun-Ru began pulling back as soon as the order was passed along, but it didn't have nearly the same effect Xingke had intended. As soon as half of their already divided force had reached and had begun ascending the hill, one of the signals - either the Lancelot or the Guren Nishiki, Xingke assumed - cut the other half off, dividing the army into three pieces. Before the Gun-Ru could try to breach, many others had joined the Lancelot, blocking the way.

"I see…" Xingke tapped a finger to his cheek, smirking. "Truly a foe worthy of his reputation. A hero of chaos indeed," he slumped into the seat behind him, his mind quickly working around this new development. "Our strategy is worthless now…" he commented to himself, inaudible to those around him. He felt Gao Hai's panicked glares on the back of his head, but he shrugged them off. "Prepare to launch _it_. I'm going out."

o--o

"That's…" Lelouch glowered at the blue Frame gliding elegantly across the ground. It was slightly smaller than the Guren Nishiki in size, and the general structure was vastly different, but there were key features that told him it was India that had created this one as well, most notably the moderately more humanoid structure rather than the more block like appearance that was commonplace in Britannia's frames. It had what seemed to be a factsphere embedded in it's center, as well as what most likely a slash harken, although the subtle difference piqued Lelouch's curiosity. Was it perhaps the unique slash harken Rakshata had spoke of?

"Stay alert," C.C. scolded coldly, breaking Lelouch free of his musings. He was able to swerve aside just in time to avoid having the slash harken flung through his Frame and the blue Frame kept going, forcing the Black Knights line before him to either part or be destroyed by the same slash harken now being spun at an inhuman speed in front of it.

"It broke through so easily... Suzaku, Karen, take it out!" Lelouch ordered, now determined to learn all he could about this new Frame. The Lancelot charged at it suddenly from within the mass of Gun-Ru, bringing the spinning slash harken to a stop with it's MVS before grabbing the other and swinging, but the blue Frame nearly effortlessly dodged that assault and manoeuvred it's way to the Lancelot's back, slowly wrapping it's slash harken around the MVS as it went until Suzaku was completely trapped. Suzaku grunted in displeasure as he pulled back, forcing the blue Frame with it, watching his radar all the while.

"Now," Suzaku said quietly. At that moment Karen emerged from the lines of the Black Knights nearby, grasping tightly onto the blue Frame's head with it's claw arm. Radiation began to surge forth from the hand, heating up the blue Frame visibly.

The 'factsphere' space on the blue Frame opened, and Lelouch raised an eyebrow. That is, however, until he realized it was charging something and that his previous assessment of it being a factsphere had been horribly wrong. Lelouch grimaced, "Karen! Move!" but she was rather immobile, clamped firmly onto the face of the Frame. Just before it could fire, however, a Jeremiah's Sutherland charged out, pushing the Guren out of the way, taking the brunt of the shot. The large surge of energy kept going, taking out a number of Burai as well as a great many Gun-Ru. Lelouch was dumbstruck for a moment, hands shaking as he took it all in.

"India created... something like this?" Lelouch spoke through gritted teeth. Jeremiah was a pillar for him. One of his strongholds in overcoming Geass' loneliness. But with just one blow, Jeremiah had been removed. Even if he was alive, it would take a miracle for him to survive. An idle tear coursed it's way down Lelouch's face without him realizing it, and he swiftly wiped it away. Attempting to hide all emotion, although he failed miserably, he said hoarsely, "We're retreating."

o--o

_It was the first time I'd openly expressed feelings amongst the lesser members of the Order. Many had expressed mixtures of shock, disbelief and worry when they'd realized the damage done to Jeremiah had managed to strike a chord within me. But I didn't so much as address them, and nobody made any complaints when they saw C.C. and I retreat immediately to my quarters._

_It was bewildering, to wonder why the incident caused such pain in me. Jeremiah was a useful man, but he and I shared no bond beyond the desire to avenge my mother. Though that may have been it. The bond we shared in our shared desire to avenge Marianne Vi Britannia immediately made him one of my most important confidants. Moreover, he was one of the few that held a position within my inner circle, and that in itself warranted my mourning._

_It wasn't long before rage overtook me, and it took all my common sense to dissuade me from immediately turning around and avenging Jeremiah's possible loss. That night was spent in a state not unlike a traumatized child, slouched in my seat muttering words Clovis had told me over and over. That revenge was never the right path, and that I should never resort to it. But it was hard, as the pang of pain grew thicker still in my heart._

_The night ended being a restless one._

_Suzaku had checked on me the following morning, asking if I was alright. He'd been thoroughly surprised when he'd seen my reaction to it all, but I suspected it added further securities to his heart. He still held some worry over who I was now, I knew, try as he might to hide it. I had confided in him, telling him of Jeremiah's connection to my mother's death, and how important a figure the former Purist Faction leader had turned out to be. Suzaku had been a good friend the whole way through, even offering to stay with me until I was 'capable of returning to my day to day duties' as he had put it._

_But I couldn't have that. Be it Lelouch Vi Britannia, Lelouch Lamperouge or Zero, I was not weak. No matter what the pain I felt, I would not cower. I promised myself I would press on regardless of the sacrifice, and that I would beat all the odds set against me. And I had every intention to do so._

_People were surprised to see their masked leader in front of them making a speech that day, fully admitting having underestimated the enemy and trying to raise morale once again. They'd been better than I thought, having previously been people following a seemingly indefeasible masked god of some sort. I suppose it was some sort of reassurance that I was, in fact, human._

_And I was glad for that, because I needed their support now more than ever. I would not sit back and let this defeat go unavenged. In a war where I could only go forward, it was all I really could do, anyway. To that end, we retreated back to Zhanjiang to regroup and, hopefully, build up our forces. I'd been sceptical about the idea of enlisting Chinese civilians into the Black Knights, but Suzaku had reminded me that we weren't simply fighting for the Japanese, and I relented. _

_But at the same time, that sparked a small revelation within me. We were, in fact, no longer Japan's army. It had been hardly a month - just before the leaves started turning to the colors of Fall - since I had first referred to the Order of the Black Knights as Japan's personal army. In such a short time, we'd already become an army with responsibilities extending far beyond Area 11. It had always been my intent to go beyond Area 11 in my quest to topple Britannia's ideals, of course, but it was the first time I'd looked at it in such a perspective._

_As we continued to bolster our forces, fortifying the city and preparing for a possible attack from the Chinese Federation, preparations were being made to turn this dire situation into a stunning victory. The Chinese Federation would be torn in two by our quest for power, and the Black Knights would be there to take all the power there was to be had in the strife we would cause._

_It would be a victory that would set us well on our path toward the end of this war._

o--o

The outer wall of the Vermillion City palace was decorated with brilliant gold embroidery, revealing for all to see just how high the symbolic value of the palace ran. A short stone bridge connected it at the center to the roof of a small pavilion, the same carmine color of the stone that made the structure with the same golden embroidery lining the walls. It was a sight to behold for those not native to the country. Much of Britannia's concessions were just as beautiful, but the palace stood out in China as a diamond in the rough, with things going from moderate to simply dreadful in appearance the further they got from the palace.

The roof itself was no less regal in it's appearance. A flower bed of roses, lilies, and countless other flowers lay surrounding a stone tiled center, a table of a much deeper maroon situated in the center. The stone tiled area itself had a single stone pathway leading back to the bridge, with bright gold lights that shone day or night lining either side. Similar lights were placed between the rows of flowers that the bed was composed of. Looking at it from above or below, the pavilion was nothing short of stunning.

And there at that table sat the white haired Tianzi, dressed in her ceremonial gown. On either side of her and behind her were Huang Qian and Xia Wang of the High Eunuchs, with the rest of them save for Gao Hai behind her, all of them wearing broad grins. The reason for said grins sat in front of them; there sat Kaguya Sumeragi, dressed in an pure black dress with lines of ultramarine and burgundy extending down the sides, crossing and interlocking at different points that Lord Zero had so kindly given to her for the occasion.

To her left sat her ally in diplomacy slash underground informant, Diethard Reid. He was dressed comparatively simply, wearing the black outfit he'd gotten from Zero upon his inauguration into the Order of the Black Knights. A sly smirk lay firmly planted on his face, both as a display of his confidence and as an unintentional representation of his glee. There was more corruption than he thought possible in the Chinese Federation. And although he reported solely for Zero as of late, this corruption would be of much use to their cause.

"Zero has sent you now that he's realized the folly of this conflict, has he?" Huang Qian started, trying to sound as bitter as possible despite his inner glee. On the outside, he seemed to be wholly against the situation. On the inside, his mind was doing backflips of joy and working out numerous ways to use this situation to his advantage. _'Should we use them against India? No, that's not enough... use them against Britannia. They'll restore the faith those peons have in us, too,'_ his thoughts quickly degenerated from bad to worse as he thought about it, and a sly smirk replaced his grin bit by bit.

And Diethard saw right through him. He just didn't know it yet.

"Lord Zero has sent us to --" Kaguya chirped, before being completely cut off by Diethard.

"-- Zero has sent us here to negotiate a ceasefire," okay, so _technically_ Zero had said no such thing and _technically_ one could say Diethard was overstepping his bounds, if the quirked eyebrow from Kaguya was any indication. But Zero _had_ said to do what was necessary to get into contact with Zhou Xianglin or Hong Gu, and so long as he had that intent, Diethard could rightfully claim immunity to any and all reprimands for such a claim.

The looks on the faces of the Eunuchs immediately soured, whereas the look on the Tianzi's face lit up considerably. _'That's certainly worth noting,'_ Diethard grinned inwardly, machinations within him working overtime figuring out just what chaos Zero could cause with all this new information. But before that came the mission Zero had rightfully left him with, which was sure to cause just as much chaos on it's own.

"A... ceasefire?" a small cog in his mind fell out of place as he stared up at the towering and slim figure of Xia Wang, a lopsided frown on his face. It was no surprise that the Eunuchs would be less than willing to allow there to be any sort of negotiations. But that sat just fine with Diethard. Clearly, they hadn't accounted for the fact that the Black Knights didn't dance to the beat of another's drum.

"A ceasefire," Diethard confirmed. His eyes twinkled with very well hidden glee as he reached into his pocket, flipping the switch on a recorder he'd brought with him. If negotiations went the way he suspected they may, this could very well be what the Order of the Black Knights needed to turn the war around. "Though we have been defeated, the Black Knights will soon be ready to act again. And without the element of surprise, your forces will once again crumble before our strength and Zero's tactics. A ceasefire would be in your best interest," he reasoned with himself that it was a believable feint of idiocy. He did in fact believe that Zero could pull through now that he knew what the enemy was capable of, however.

Huang Qian was beyond angry, though he didn't let it show. How dare Diethard come in, renouncing the strength of one of the world's three superpowers, claiming that nothing more than a large group of terrorists could crumble it?! But he decided to play along, firmly believing he could work this to his advantage. "And what would Zero have to gain from a ceasefire?" he asked, feigning genuine interest in the possibility of a ceasefire. _'As if we'd relent to those worms.'_

"As has been the case since we arrived on Hainan Island, the people have played a large role in our occupation," Diethard took much enjoyment in the stunned expressions the faces of the Eunuchs gave off at his shameless discussion of having occupied their territory. As soon as the enjoyment had worn off, he continued, "That having been said, devoting time to their recovery is no small task for us. Furthermore, the divided attention we are providing continues to hinder your ability to fight India. Am I wrong?"

Quickly feeling the ground beneath them collapsing, not one Eunuch was spared from the nervous sweat that broke out from being put in such a position. They had no good way to answer, after all. Not only was Zero's administration of Hainan Island saintly compared to how the Eunuchs took care of the rest of the country, but they were being put on the spot by Diethard's claim of needing to take time for the sake of the people. And Huang Qian in particular had a rather strong feeling that Diethard was aware of that.

Lost in the negotiations, all Kaguya and the Tianzi could do was smile to each other meekly. Both were in similar positions, being forced to sit through something that they wouldn't be able to help too much - or at all - with. Kaguya had initially wondered why Lord Zero would consider her childish innocence a good thing for these negotiations, but she was slowly beginning to realize; the small bond that could only be formed between younger children such as the Tianzi and herself was not unwelcome in the realm of negotiations, no matter how much of a figurehead the Tianzi was. Especially with the true targets they had in mind.

"What would Zero have to offer us in return for our _generosity_, then?"

o--o

"…I see. Very well," Lelouch sighed, leaning back as he hung up. Diethard was doing well, he had to admit, despite a few troublesome decisions. But nothing he couldn't work around, of course. These negotiations had the added effect of giving the Order of the Black Knights recognized control over Hainan Island, officially making it a place they could call their own. It wasn't anything worthy of making them a world superpower to be sure, but it was a start to the ever growing power that was the Order of the Black Knights.

Lelouch leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he read the screen in front of him. Ten new Burai were transported to Zhanjiang along with one more Gekka, and the gravy train of Knightmare Frame transports hadn't seemed to be impeded by the Black Knights' delay in lending their aid to India. But there was one other thing included in the latest transport that interested Lelouch, and he was more than eager to put it out on the battlefield.

The Hakumei.

He quickly closed the file again, shutting down the entire computer as he reclined into his seat. The bright white walls were a painful sight to look at for extended periods of time, and so he looked to his right where a large T.V. screen was showing a news report. "Still talking about the Lancelot's sudden defection… not surprising."

"What was that, Lelouch?" Lelouch's eyes continued, landing on the mop of blue hair that was otherwise known as his friend Rivalz. The rest of the Student Council - save for Suzaku who was unsurprisingly absent - were thoroughly engrossed in the news report, breaking free of the trance the T.V. had on them every so often to engage in some conversation regarding it. Shirley remained quiet, whereas Milly and Nina had begun to engage in a rather timid variation of an argument. Lelouch paid them no mind, focusing solely on Rivalz.

"Suzaku's sudden defection," he nodded toward the T.V. for emphasis. "It's become a big deal in Britannia rather quickly," he explained, standing up. Crossing the room, he took a seat between Rivalz and Shirley, giving the T.V. the whole of his attention.

"I still can't understand why…" Rivalz tried, falling short of anything remotely resembling a full sentence. Lelouch chuckled, watching the T.V. whilst glancing at his friend from the corner of his eye.

Lelouch's eyes slowly began to close as a bitter smile came to his lips. "It doesn't matter what they do. The world won't change," it was a belief that he'd once strongly believed in, but it was no less reasonable now than it was back before Zero took center stage. The only difference in Lelouch's mind was that, now, it acted as a reminder that he had an obligation to destroy his own belief. He had to change an unchangeable world.

He jumped with a start as his phone suddenly began vibrating. _'Todo,'_ he thought bemusedly, stepping out of the room without a word. He answered the phone, holding it to his ear and whispering, "Hold on," before he lowered it, continuing toward the roof, careful to make sure none of his friends had grown suspicious and had chosen to follow. As usual, however, they didn't. As soon as he was in his own little realm of privacy, he returned the phone to his ear, "What is it?" he asked.

"Everyone is beginning to get worried by the fact that Zero has said nothing in the past two days, Lelouch," judging by the fact that he was referring to him by his name, Lelouch suspected that he was alone, meaning Todo must have been getting the brunt of the insecurities as well. "C.C. is an acceptable double, but it's growing difficult to hide the truth," he explained. Lelouch groaned; this was one of the worries that came with a plan that didn't guarantee success, but his hand had been forced in the matter.

Lelouch gritted his teeth, muttering harshly, "I can't return yet! They're suspicious of Sayoko's actions as my double, and I need to take care of that! Nunnally is getting worried as well, and…" Lelouch's voice left him entirely, succumbing to the piling amount of worries he had.

"May I suggest revealing your identity, then?"

--

Next chapter, so long as it isn't nearly as horrible as this one was, will be an interest write on my part, and hopefully as interesting a read on your part. Especially scenes pertaining to Diethard and Kaguya, as I found them especially interesting to write in this chapter. The side of Diethard that isn't an obsessed lapdog is a manipulative one, after all.

Also, I believe a brief explanation is in order for one part in particular. Call it out of place if you will, but I simply couldn't resist the urge to associate Zero and the tern 'hero of chaos' in this chapter. If you're at all familiar with Chinese history, 'hero of chaos' was a nickname of sorts for Cao Cao, who was quite possibly the most accomplished military commander and strategist during the late first and early second century, also known as the Three Kingdoms era.


	12. The Black Prince

Not going to be saying a lot here this time. Really, with how I left you hanging last time, there's not much I want to say that you won't be finding out on your own in a minute or two (or now, should you choose to ignore author comments at the beginning). But I can say I was absolutely ecstatic to start writing this. Let's just hope the cliffhanger I gave you last time doesn't disappoint.

In response to Lord Edric, that factor played no part whatsoever in the reasoning for Zero inheriting that nickname. Keep in mind that Cao Cao was (in my mind) at his best prior to becoming one of the Chinese superpowers of the era. And a lot of his history reminded me of Lelouch in one way or another (taking over the Emperor, his methodical ways of conquering, etc.)

The night was a restless one for Lelouch. He lay in his bed, pondering, trying to decide how best to deal with the piling issues in front of him. Time remained to be an issue with every day that passed as things continued to get worse for India, but that wasn't the first problem in his mind. It was what he had decided to do, and the impact it would have on the world. Would the Black Knights accept this decision? Could they accept it? Lelouch groaned, pulling the white satin sheets up to his neck again.

No, the world's reception to Zero's identity was not something he could predict.

Nunnally lay just a room away. How would she take the news? Would she be able to understand her brother's reasons for being Zero? Would she be able to accept it? Countless questions piled up in Lelouch's mind, all banding together for the unified purpose of causing him the insatiable unrest he now suffered from. But what stuck out in his mind most; more than all the worries and insecurities, was one simple statement.

Nunnally wouldn't be safe if he revealed his identity. They'd try to take her from him as they did his mother, and they would use her to destroy the Black Knights leader. If he were to reveal Zero's identity as the Black Prince of the Britannian empire, he needed to be ready to keep Nunnally safe from harm. And there was only one way to do that. 'Britannia can't be trusted… but the only other way to keep her safe would be…'

Lelouch's eyes finally drifted to a close, a single tear coursing it's way down his cheek. He had made a decision.

o--o

_Goodbye, Ashford…_

o--o

The air in China was thicker.

The looks people in Zhanjiang gave him were dirtier.

People dared not make a sound in Zero's presence.

It was not unreasonable, Lelouch thought, to think the world was out to get him at that particular moment. Or perhaps the looks and the silence came from the way he carried himself. His feet were not silent against the paved ground beneath him, instead trudging along lifelessly. He did not raise himself to regard the world with the superiority and the arrogance befitting of Zero. Rather than the unbearable fear Zero struck in the common man, he instead received pity. His movements were heavy, burdened with the inadvisable decision he had made.

Zero was to become a memory so soon. The masked revolutionary had become a nightmare for those on the Britannian homeland. They spoke of Zero as some kind of unimaginable monster. Spoke of him as a monster that would sweep children from their beds and away from their families, never to be seen again. To Lelouch, he was nothing more than an escape into the realm of lies he'd been weaving. A carefully created persona of a man who would change the world, while the world he changed would know nothing of who he was.

But to many, Zero was a person in and of himself. The mask was a face of it's own, and the cloak was as his skin. The masked revolutionary was not an alter ego to Lelouch Vi Britannia, or Lelouch Lamperouge. He was a symbol of hope and of resistance, in the hearts of the oppressed and the weak. He was an irreplaceable treasure to the world.

He was something to the people that Lelouch Vi Britannia could never be. He was an icon.

Suzaku and Karen flanked him as usual, seeming almost giddy by comparison to the slouch to their leader's step. Todo fell into step with them as they neared the shipyard where their G-1 bases were once again being hidden, and Nagisa and Senba joined the party as they got closer as well. Ten others stood on guard at the waterfront, rifles in hand, garbed in the black uniforms unique to the Order of the Black Knights. They stepped to the side, casting a wary eyebrow to their disheartened leader as he passed by them and onto the center fleet.

"Nagisa, Senba, keep a watch," Todo ordered, following Lelouch as he continued on toward his personal quarters. Soft thuds had been replaced with metallic clanks against the metal floor beneath them, but Lelouch seemed to have paid them no mind whatsoever. He slid open the door to his quarters, slipping in and staring half-heartedly at the other Zero, C.C., who took the hint and moved toward their bathroom to change out.

Lelouch lifted his own mask over his head, collapsing onto the bed in the far right corner with a thud. He rolled over onto his back, ignoring his small audience as he suddenly decided that the ceiling was far more interesting. Like the walls it was a pale blue in color, but unlike the walls it included golden lines painting out squares in a 20x20 - he had counted twice - grid.

Nobody said anything, taken aback by Lelouch's carefree attitude. C.C. returned from the bathroom, having replaced the mask and outfit people knew to be Zero with her far more simple black one piece outfit that made use of only black strips of clothing to cover her legs, with the Order of the Black Knights symbol over her chest. She looked at Todo and his group then over at Lelouch and then back again, raising an eyebrow before making her way toward Lelouch, glaring indignantly, "What are you doing?"

"Thinking," Lelouch replied. He lifted his head long enough to remove one arm from it's folded position and reached toward his pocket, pulling out an activation key. The key itself had a small chain attached to it, and at the end of the chain was the symbol of the Order of the Black Knights, swinging to and fro. He tossed it toward C.C., "Here," without looking away from the ceiling.

"This is…" C.C. looked down at the activation key in her hand for a moment before looking back at Lelouch, raising an eyebrow.

"The key to the Hakumei," Lelouch replied simply, looking at C.C. through the corner of one eye. "It's your's."

"I'm not an ace, Lelouch," she shot back, glowering.

"I'm sure you'll find the Guren's sister Frame to be perfect for you. I made some last minute requests on it's design with you in mind," Lelouch replied, sitting up. "It's our best means of defeating that blue Frame. Besides, there are flaws in the Hakumei that make you it's only suitable pilot."

C.C. chose not to comment on that, although she had a quickly building bad feeling regarding what he meant. "Why not give it to Todo?" she asked incredulously.

"It would be wasted on him. Todo's piloting style doesn't suit long range Frames like the Hakumei," Lelouch replied immediately, rising to a stand. "Feel free to take it for a test ride. If my predictions are correct, you'll be making good use of it soon."

Not waiting for a response, Lelouch pulled out his cell phone. Pressing a few buttons, he held it to his ear. As soon as the sound of the phone on the other end being answered was heard, he said quietly, "Diethard, what's the status?"

o--o

The room was dark, lit only by the light coming from the table in it's center, a layout of the palace grounds and interior displayed in 3D over it. Kaguya sat at it's head with Diethard on one side of the table. Across from Diethard stood Hong Gu, dressed in his military uniform with the crest of the Chinese Federation over his heart. Across from Kaguya stood Zhou Xianglin who's attention was focused solely on the 3D display in front of her.

"We have found the targets. Executing Phase One as we speak," Diethard took his phone away from his ear and hung up, placing it back in his pocket before grasping the table with both hands. "How many men do we have to do this?" he asked, looking over at Hong Gu.

"We have, aside from the guards you two brought, a force of less than one hundred. Finding those who are willing to risk their lives to restore the Tianzi is hard to do," he replied grimly, shaking his head.

"But that should be enough," Xianglin continued, eyes not leaving the table. "If we seal off all the main exits, the rest should be more than enough to get in and get the job done. We've already arranged for the removal of many of the guards, so tonight is our best shot."

"But what about the Eunuchs?" Kaguya asked, standing up.

Xianglin frowned, shaking her head. "The Eunuchs are known cowards. Once the guards are out of the way, they'll more than likely turn tail and run. This will essentially divide the country between the forces in favour of the Eunuchs, and those in favour of the Tianzi. I trust Zero has given his promise of aid, seeing as how you two are aiding us?"

"We were sent here with the mission to seek you two out and bring your coup to fruition. In a manner beneficial to ourselves, of course," Diethard explained, smirking.

"What is it Zero wants, exactly?" Xianglin asked sceptically, furrowing her brows.

"We'll speak about that once we have got the Tianzi to safety," Diethard replied immediately. "Now…"

o--o

"It's them! The Chinese Federation is laying siege to the city!"

Lelouch looked up immediately as someone burst into his quarters. Feeling the pressure of being in Zero's presence, the man immediately took a step back, saying, "Sorry, Zero. But that blue Frame is leading them!"

Lelouch stood up immediately, looking toward C.C., "Go ahead and launch. I'll take command from the command center," Lelouch walked toward the doorway, ignoring the black uniformed man as he stepped to the side and saluted to Zero's passing figure. 'He must have been from the Liberation Front,' Lelouch thought, shaking his head. "Tell Todo to launch. I'll take care of everything."

The man hastened to obey, dashing off in the opposite direction as Lelouch began making his way toward the command center. As soon as he arrived, half of the people present saluted, and once again he shook his head, "What's the status?" he asked the nearest person hastily.

"Over one hundred Gun-Ru are outside the city, and that blue Frame is flying above them!" the man reported, clearly shaken. Lelouch paused for a moment, allowing that news to settle. 'Flying? So the Hakumei isn't the only one…' Lelouch chuckled to himself, drawing a raised eyebrow from the man in front of him. "It's nothing. Make sure the new Frame has no problems launching. That is our top priority."

Lelouch made toward the table at the center, taking a moment to read everything it was showing. Sure enough, the amount of signals reported just outside the city walls were tremendous. Had Lelouch not made a priority out of maximizing defences in the city, it would be very likely that the city would already be no more than rubble now. Comparatively, the Black Knights only had five signals, among which was the Guren. More were on their way out, but it was nothing compared to the numbers they were facing.

"Zero, your orders?" Lelouch turned to his left where a man was seated in front of a comm system, a headset draped over his head.

"Have all available men prepared for launch. Keeping the enemy out of the city until the Hakumei arrives is imperative. Have the preparations for Phase 2 been completed?"

"Yes, Zero. The flammables have been carefully hidden outside the city. It seems the enemy doesn't know they're there," the man replied before turning back to his job, repeating his orders through the headset. Elsewhere, his voice would be projecting Zero's orders to the entire base.

"If this commander is nearly as good as he seems to be, he'll know we won't charge forward blindly. Have the Guren move into place and initiate Phase 2 before they catch wind of our plan," nods or brief acknowledgments were given in response, and everyone set to work once again. Satisfied, Lelouch grabbed the headset that rested on the side of the table in front of him, "Todo."

"Yes, Zero?" Todo replied distantly. He seemed to be preoccupied with something.

"How much longer will it take for you and C.C. to launch?"

"C.C. is launching as we speak. It took longer than anticipated to get everything prepared. Just what is in that Frame?" Todo replied, agitation evident in his voice.

"You will be pleasantly surprised shortly. For now, launch and take control of our troops out there. Karen is moving to initiate Phase 2."

"Phase 2? I thought you said…"

"It is a risky manoeuvre indeed, but only if the enemy catches wind of it before we initiate it. Make sure our forces are prepared to act accordingly once she is in place," Lelouch shot back quickly. He removed the headset before Todo could question him further, and turned toward Rakshata, who was looking very amused as she lounged on a loveseat off to the side, twirling her pipe between her fore and middle fingers. "The Hakumei: It has been tested, hasn't it?" he asked, glowering at the Indian scientist.

"Much of it's capabilities are in the testing stage, yes, but they are operational," she replied with a shrug, not looking at Lelouch.

Lelouch reluctantly nodded, turning to face the front once again. "Send word to Asahina and Sugiyama. They are to have all available pilots in their bases ready for launch as well. We are not going to underestimate the enemy again."

o--o

"Zero won't be fighting unprepared. We need to do the same," Xingke ordered, lowering toward the ground. He launched a slash harken forward, watching with great interest as it managed to dig itself into the large metallic wall barricading the city. It proceeded to spin in place, furthering the damage to the wall before retreating back to the Frame. "The Shenhu really is a powerful weapon," he remarked to himself almost gleefully, pleasantly shocked by the extent of the damage it had done.

The masses of Gun-Ru beneath him poured forward, taking shots at the wall as fast as their artillery would allow. Which wasn't frighteningly fast, given the agonizingly slow reload speed of the Gun-Ru, but with masses like their's it was okay to be slow. Despite all the fire the wall remained strong, however, and took very little damage, if any at all. The firepower of the Gun-Ru, though satisfactory as a whole, was not enough to do nearly the kind of damage the Shenhu was capable of inflicting.

Not that a wall would hold back the mighty Shenhu.

"Sir! The Black Knights have launched!" a voice reported through the comm system integrated into the Shenhu.

Xingke merely nodded, "Do not fear Zero! Keep up the attack!" he ordered loudly. He pulled back from the wall, charging up the Baryon cannon. By the time it had finished charging, all the Gun-Ru beneath him had managed to get in two more shots - to little effect, but it was adding up - and had managed to pull back well out of the projectile range of the cannon's fire. As it fired, however, there was not a mass of dust covering the area, and there were certainly no flying pieces of metal. Instead, there was just a lot of smoke.

"That's…" Xingke looked on in shock as the smoke cleared, revealing what seemed to be the Guren Nishiki, simply sporting a new paint job. It was nearly completely black, with the only divergences being in the swirls of dark blue and the metallic look of the cockpit itself. It's right arm was not claw-like in the least, and in it's left arm, attached to the side of it's arm, was a long cannon. The primary difference, however, were the four black wings jutting out from it's back.

o--o

"Long range assault Frame, Hakumei," Rakshata announced proudly, grinning. "Superior to the Guren in both artillery and defences, it is a combination of India's finest technology and the stolen Lancelot technology," she explained. Lelouch was grinning so widely it hurt, but he dared not wipe it from his face out of fear that he would lose this feeling of accomplishment.

"C.C., take out that blue Frame! Karen, now!"

The man working at the comm system repeated Zero's orders without a second thought. Even he was smiling widely as he did so, unable to fight it off. After all, they hadn't been victorious just yet. But they were close.

Lelouch continued to watch with interest as the ground began to rumble beneath them. And then, explosions came in terrifying numbers.

o--o

Xingke, who had previously convinced himself he could eliminate the Black Knights, was now scowling as he shook almost fearfully. He was a courageous man to be sure, but there were limits to what one's stomach could take in and how far a man could be pushed before he began to fear his foe. Zero's latest tactic had broken both barriers at once.

Beneath him, cries both of horror and of agony were heard as explosions occurred all along the exterior of the city's defensive wall. In the wake of the explosions was no more than a junk heap of what used to be an army's worth of Gun-Ru. All taken out in the blink of an eye. No warning was given save for the second-and-a-half of rumbling as the attack began, but as soon as they had caught wind of what was happening, it was too late. Over one hundred men were killed in an instant.

He wasn't given much time to take in the horrific sight, however, as he narrowly dodged a long stream of red. Looking toward the source, he saw the Hakumei seated high in the sky, long-barrelled cannon held near where it's left eye should have been. He reflexively charged toward it, only to be surprised at the speed of the wave that was shot from the cannon. He didn't have enough time to move, instead being blasted back toward the ground as the wave of Fukushahado tore through him. The exceptional defences of the Shenhu denied it any extensive damage, but in the wake of the blast the Frame was left without one of it's legs.

"Second division, charge!" he ordered, surging toward the Hakumei once more. This time when it fired he managed to navigate around the blast, instead growling as he got a face full of a slash harken. His flight was impeded ever so slightly but he didn't relent, taking the moment of inaction to charge forward. By the time the Hakumei was ready to fire or launch another slash harken he was right in it's face, his own slash harken in hand, swinging in front of him.

But the Hakumei surprised him yet again, utilising almost inhuman speed to escape the swinging appendage. Xingke's skilled eyes followed it's every movement, and when it finally stopped moving he pounced on it once again.

Yet again, only to be met with a slash harken to the face.

Down below, shots were heard, signalling the arrival of his reserve forces. But the fight wasn't going well for them, with the ground now nothing more than a mass of deep pits in the wake of the explosions that had taken place. The sheer mass of the Gun-Ru made them easy victims as they tried to navigate this issue, and lost signals appeared in alarming rates as they were picked off with ease by the superior Frames boasted by the Black Knights.

Zero's victory was complete. It was immaculate. It was devastating.

It was exactly what Xingke had expected from the man.

o--o

"Y-y-you!" Gao Hai stuttered, backing away in sheer terror.

"How dare you!" Zhao Hao cried in rage, despite the fact that he too was backing away - along with the six other Eunuchs, all displaying similar expressions of terror.

Diethard was walking toward them, a smirk plastered on his face. To his left and right were Xianglin and Hong Gu respectively, and behind them were many other men, all armed with a rifle in hand and a sword sheathed at their side. The few guards on duty were bound and being pulled by the last of the group of assailants, dumped in a corner off to the side where they were helpless to do anything.

"You have abused the will of heaven for far too long," Xianglin spat out, hatred clear in her voice. "In the name of Lord Li Xingke, the Tianzi shall be restored to power," and with that, she let a single round fire from the pistol in her hand, taking out Gao Hai with a well aimed shot to the head. The other Eunuchs stared on in horror as she aimed again, this time at Tong Lun.

"W-wait!" Tong Lun tried, lowering to his knees and bowing. "We… we surrender! So please, d-don't!"

"The world will not change if we allow the corrupt to remain," Diethard spat, aiming his own gun at Tong Lun. "This is retribution, for the ants you've stepped on."

The bullet struck without a moment's hesitation. Tong Lun slumped to the ground, blood pouring freely from the bullet wound in the center of his head. Diethard smiled at the sight; a smile far wider than it feasibly should have been. From there, his actions were a blur. Be it the desire to render good service to the Order of the Black Knights or the more self-motivated desire to see such corrupt people fall in a pool of their own blood, Diethard showed no restraint as he bestowed the same bloody fate upon each of the other Eunuchs. The Tianzi was left in a corner, shaking in terror and looking at Diethard as though he were the devil himself.

o--o

"Good work, Diethard. This will certainly further our plans a great deal. See to it that she is kept safe," to say Lelouch was pleased at that moment would be an understatement. C.C. stared in bewilderment at the gleeful smirk on his face, and at the way his eyes narrowed as his mind wracked over what to do next. Put simply, he looked like an evil villain who's latest plot had come to fruition. And in his own right, many considered that to be the case.

"Thank you very much, Zero," Diethard responded happily, hanging up. As soon as he heard the dial tone Lelouch hung up as well, turning toward C.C., "We'll be done here soon. India's war will be finished, and we can finally reclaim Area 11."

Lelouch stalked toward the briefcase he had securely locked and hidden beneath his bed, pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking it. He pulled his mask and clothes from the briefcase before closing it again, beginning to replace his own clothing with that of Zero's. "This commander seems to be loyal to the Tianzi. Once it is made public knowledge that the rebel faction and the Black Knights have the Tianzi, he will likely rebel as well."

"You're going to throw an entire country into chaos. The military will be divided between those who support the Tianzi, and those who support the Eunuchs. India will no longer be a factor. That's what you want, isn't it?" C.C. was all too amused by this development, and she shot a smirk at her partner.

"India will be satisfied with their independence, and I'll be able to further my influence into their research and development groups. The Order of the Black Knights will nearly double in strength, and when all is said and done we'll have the strength we need to attack Britannia," Lelouch replied nonchalantly, buttoning up the rest of his purple undershirt before reaching for the black cloak that was to go over it. "Charles will have the advantage in power and artillery, but my Geass gives us the final edge we need."

"Is one Geass enough? You don't know the extent of Charles' influence into that area. His contractor, V.V., is the head of the Geass Directorate," C.C. replied, eyeing Lelouch curiously.

"The sanctuary for those like you, correct?" Lelouch replied, now pulling his mask over his head and tightening it's hold on the back of his neck.

"More or less," C.C. shrugged, pulling her knees toward her chest.

"Than I will need to take control of this directorate," Lelouch returned to the table in the center of the room, eyes running briefly along the screen of the laptop rested there before he closed it. "Do you know where it is?"

C.C. didn't answer. After a moment of impatient waiting Lelouch turned back, only to find her fast asleep, laying on her right side facing the wall. He scowled, walking toward her, "You still think I'm another Mao. Think that I'll be another one to fail you, don't you?"

Her trust would be far harder to earn than anyone else's had been.

o--o

The door to the base's infirmary opened with no more than a light hiss, but nobody turned to greet the newcomer. They knew who it would be. Lelouch strode toward the bed where Jeremiah lay, both legs raised and in casts, and one arm bandaged almost entirely. Bandages covered the better part of his chest, as well as covering his left eye. He was bandaged almost beyond all recognition.

"Any change?" Lelouch asked, his voice showing only the faintest of emotions. The doctors tending to the Britannian simply shrugged.

"None. His breathing has returned to normal, but he's shown no signs of waking."

"And the damage to his body?"

"Temporary. No irreparable damage has been done, but the damage to his shoulder may hinder his piloting ability. Provided that he even step on a battlefield again in the near future. I would advise against it," the doctor replied, eyes downcast.

"Keep me informed," with that, Lelouch turned on his heel, exiting the infirmary. Karen was waiting outside the infirmary for him, and she fell into step with him as he made for the command center.

"Zero…" she started, almost timidly.

"Lelouch," he corrected quietly, frowning beneath the mask that hid his features. "What is it?"

"…No, it's nothing," Karen looked away, afraid to allow Lelouch to see her face at that moment. Lelouch frowned, but didn't bother commenting on it. The two continued on in silence until they entered the command center, where Karen took a seat at one of the many stations while Lelouch proceeded to the center, where Todo was engaged in some conversation with Nagisa and Senba. "Todo."

"Ah, Zero," Todo turned toward Lelouch, nodding in greeting. "Are we ready?"

"Diethard has completed his part, so we shall do our part. They're hiding out along the Xun River, correct?"

"That is correct. Shall we get going then?"

"Yes," was Lelouch's one word reply as he moved closer to the table, looking down at it. "So far, this war has been fought using outdated battle tactics. But they've proven effective. The enemy has their back to the Xun River. If we attack now, we can overpower the scattered remnants of their forces."

A farewell party consisting of the vast majority of the citizens of Zhanjiang awaited the Black Knights at the walls of the city, waving frantically. Those within the command center were a little put off by the fact that Zero made no outward reaction to the sight. However, unbeknownst to them, Lelouch himself held a small smile on his face beneath the mask. The people there had suffered greatly, and seeing them in good spirits was a welcome contrast to how the poverty-stricken people under the rule of the High Eunuchs looked.

o--o

"Th-the... It's the Black Knights! Zero is attacking!"

"It's as I expected," Xingke replied cooly, not worried in the least. "Our forces are few, but we can delay them. Our forces have nearly captured Fort Shigatse, and it's only a matter of time before India's lines crumble. We will be victorious if the Black Knights cannot reach India in time. Send out every Frame we have! Zero will not outdo us again!"

"The black Guren is leading them!" Xingke's cool exterior faltered slightly with this information, but nobody seemed to take notice of it. "Will the Shenhu be launching?"

"We can't afford to let Zero have the upper hand. I'll go out," Xingke turned and made for the hangar, ignoring further question from those within the command center. They'd be able to get back to him once he was on the battlefield, after all.

He reached the hangar within a matter a seconds, finding the Shenhu already prepared for launch. Nodding to the people within the hangar he made for the lift cable, riding it up to the Shenhu's cockpit and climbing in. He went through the basic startup procedures of putting in his activation key and running through diagnostics, and was out on the field – or rather, in the air – almost instantly.

High above the many Sutherland, Burai, and Gloucesters was the Hakumei, having already noticed him and charging toward him. He fired a slash harken at it as he swerved toward it's left, firing the second slash harken. This one struck the Hakumei in the side sending it spinning off course, but it picked itself up quickly and charged at Xingke again. By this time he'd charged the Baryon Cannon, but C.C. easily dodged around that as she closed in on the Shenhu.

The next ten minutes were sheer chaos. For the Black Knights and Chinese Federation forces below, it was a one-sided massacre of the bulky Gun-Ru Frames, unable to make a decent stand against the overwhelming power of the Black Knights' artillery. Casualties were few, but the Chinese Federation forces were met with devastating results at every attempt to fight off the mass of black Frames charging at them.

For the Hakumei and Shenhu, it was a back-and-forth attempt to take out eachother without either getting close to winning. Xingke's superior piloting proved to be capable of making him a match for C.C.'s superior Frame. On numerious occasions the firepower of the Baryon Cannon had been contested by the firepower of the Fukushahado cannon, but neither were able to overpower the other in terms of sheer overwhelming strength.

It was only when a certain voice rang through the air that either side stopped fighting, "Chinese Federation forces, if you are loyal to your Tianzi, lay down your arms! The Order of the Black Knights have liberated this country!"

All Frames slowly turned to gaze up at the sky, and many – Chinese Federation and Black Knights alike – were surprised by what they saw. The Lancelot flew overhead, an attatchable float system on it's back. What was more surprising, however, were the other things on it. In it's left hand was a young girl of fifteen with brown hair flowing over the sides of her face. Nunnally Vi Britannia. And on the shoulder of the Lancelot, standing with one hand against the Frame's head, was Zero.

Without his mask covering his face.

--

And that's the end of this chapter. The end seemed a bit rushed, but it wasn't intended as a full scale battle anyway.

The ending leaves as much to be explained as it does open up several interesting scenes – one of which, I assure you, will involve the Student Council. But aside from that little bit I have nothing else to say – I have nothing I completely and totally hate about this chapter, after all – so I'll leave things there.


	13. His Name is Zero

Well, I know it was only recently that I said that chapter 17 would roughly be the end of this arc. But that may be a chapter or two earlier, due to the fact that I fit more last chapter than I had anticipated I would. That is in part due to the fact that no other ending worked, and in part due to the fact that I would have likely driven a great many of you crazy if I didn't bring closure to chapter 11's cliffhanger.

This chapter will either be really good, or absolutely dreadful, depending on how critical you are of the public's reception to Lelouch being Zero. I won't comment, but you should have a good idea of what I mean. That will be the focal point of this chapter, at any rate.

Anyway, I don't want to reveal too much (though you'll find out soon anyway). Enjoy!

* * *

The sparks of change made by Lelouch Vi Britannia's decision to reveal himself had caused quite a few unpredicted events to occur.

In Area 11, a certain Student Council was devoid of any happiness.

In the EU, ceasefires with Britannia were made official to allow the development to settle.

Britannian citizens worldwide demanded answers from the nobles for their prince's betrayal, going as far as to take to arms to get the answers.

And in the Britannia Palace, Charles Di Britannia was actually smiling.

"He's growing up, Charles," a boy of seemingly no more than ten stated, a smirk on his face. He had blond hair that reached the floor – as well as two sets that came down on either side of his face in much the same way – and purple eyes far more vibrant than those of the emperor. He was dressed in a noble outfit of white with golden lining down the middle, as well as blue at the collar and at his ankles. Over that was a black cape of sorts that covered his back and folded around his arms, folded around the neck to reveal a purple on the inside.

"Indeed he is," Charles responded, his smile fading although the delight remained on his face still. "He is fighting the lies he has created."

"Shall I continue to spy on him?" the boy asked, a bored expression visible in his lidded eyes despite the smirk his lips were curved into.

Before Charles could answer, the doors to the room opened, and Villeta and Kewell walked in, carrying themselves mightily. "Your Highness," Villeta said respectfully, dropping to one knee some distance from the throne. After a moment she lifted her head, regarding the young boy. "...Master V.V., are we ready?" her disapproval of the young boy was evident to both V.V. and Charles, despite how hard she tried to mask it.

"You shall continue to spy on Lelouch," Charles' voice was loud and commanding, and few could keep their cool in such a situation. Villeta and Kewell were part of that few. Their resolve didn't waver, and both nodded immediately as he spoke. "I think you know what to do to get at my son."

V.V. nodded a wordless agreement, turning on his heel with Kewell and Villeta in tow. "A prince betraying his country..." Kewell sighed, shaking his head. "We'll take care of it, Your Highness."

o--o

"So Zero is a Britannian prince... such irony," Xingke sighed, shaking his head. "Do not listen to him! He is spreading lies to confuse us! Press the attack!"

Xingke spurred forward, once again intent on attacking the Hakumei. C.C. dodged around the attack, gaining some distance before firing off her Fukushahado cannon. Try as he might dodging was impossible, and the Shenhu was sent spiraling toward the ground, finally managing to gain enough force to stop just inches from a Gun-Ru below. On-screen reports showed extensive damage to the Baryon cannon, however, and Xingke let a growl escape from the back of his throat.

"Sir!" a soldier cried, his breathing heavy from what could have been either joy or terror; Xingke couldn't be sure. "Reinforcements are approaching. Two... no, three hundred of them! Gun-Ru... they're allies!"

Xingke was skeptical to say the least. The Chinese Federation did in fact have the resources to spare such a force, but the High Eunuchs were very much against lending the aid to Xingke. "If you can't win without them, you aren't worthy of being in the service of the Tianzi," they had said. And so, Xingke ignored this new development, keeping a close eye on his radar as he charged at the Hakumei once again.

"Wait..." the soldier groaned, perplexed. "There's twenty Burai as well?" _that_ made Xingke pause. Burai with Gun-Ru? That could only mean...

"Zero is right," Xingke sighed, pulling away. "All forces, stand down!"

The soldiers below blinked in confusion, some even continuing their fights for several minutes before the order truly struck them. None were particularly happy with the prospect of ending the fighting after so many allies had been lost, but they dared not disobey an order from such an imposing man as Li Xingke.

Live to fight another day, as they say.

o--o

"Zero is a prince of Britannia?!"

"Britannia is trying to take us out from the inside!"

"Kill Zero!"

Lelouch ran a hand down his face as he watched his men thrash about before him, broken by the revelation before them. He had expected nothing less, of course, but it was still bothersome. Nunnally was in front of him, still out cold from shock. Karen and Todo were amongst the troops trying to soothe them, and Suzaku was standing by Lelouch, a hand rested comfortingly on his shoulder.

"You expected this, didn't you?" Suzaku asked, tightening his grip on Lelouch's shoulder. Lelouch winced for a moment before he realized it was in a friendly and caring manner, and he ignored the slight pain.

"I did," Lelouch admitted, nodding. "What did you tell Nunnally before you took her?"

"She asked me if I knew what was wrong with you," Suzaku sighed, shaking his head. "Sayoko didn't do as well as we thought she would, and Nunnally was worried. So I told her I'd explain if she came with me. As soon as she felt herself being lifted into the Lancelot's hand, she passed out."

"If we can win over everyone, our fight will be much easier," Lelouch nodded. "But with or without them, I won't waver. I will find a way to make my dreams reality, with or without the Order of the Black Knights."

Suzaku said nothing, but he smiled widely as he heard this. Lelouch was indeed an ally of the people, to have such strong convictions. Like any commander he made rather harsh decisions at times, and many lives were being lost along the way. But this path had told Suzaku something: hoping to change the world without shedding blood was a hopeless endeavor, and Lelouch had both come to terms with that and found a way that minimized unnecessary losses.

Both watched on as the battle for acceptance waged on. Karen had been temporarily put out of comission and Diethard – who had grinned widely and been delighted the moment he saw Lelouch's face beneath Zero's mask – had taken her off to the side with Ogi, who had taken the better path of postponing judgment until he heard an explanation.

And that is exactly what Lelouch planned to give.

As Diethard returned, camera in hand and ready to record as soon as his lord gave him the reply, Lelouch said, his voice loud and commanding as ever, "Silence."

All quarreling stopped immediately and Lelouch smiled a bitter smile, giving Diethard a wave of the hand that gave him the okay to begin recording, "I am Zero. I am Lelouch Lamperouge. And I am Lelouch Vi Britannia, son of our enemy, Charles Di Britannia," he started, waving an arm to the side in the same fashion he had during many of his speeches beneath Zero's masks.

"You're a liar is what you are!" Tamaki growled, shaking a fist.

"You planned to break the spirit of the Japanese!" another growled out, fingering a pistol at his side. "You planned to sell us out to Britannia!"

"I am a liar," Lelouch admitted without hesitation, undaunted by the growing anger in the eyes of the Black Knights. "But I have lied with Japan's best interests in mind."

"What are you talking about?" Ogi asked, stepping forth.

"Yeah!" Tamaki added, eyes all but burning with rage. "Why should we believe a kid?!"

"Your ace, Karen Kozuki, is a child no older than myself. She is the finest we have, and she is the same age as myself. Your prime minister's son, Suzaku Kururugi, is my best friend and close confidant. Both are essential in our fight for liberation. Should age matter?" Lelouch responded, smiling a slightly more calm smile. Tamaki backed down instantly.

"You didn't answer my question," Ogi pointed out, frowning.

"Tell me, Ogi. No, all of you," Lelouch spread his arms wide, as if accepting a child into his embrace. "Would you have listened to me? Would you have left your fate to me, were I to show myself to you as your enemy's son?" Lelouch paused for a moment, knowing nobody would reply. "You would not. Social barriers would lead you to believe I mean to harm you. But I do not."

"And why should we believe you?" Nagisa asked through gritted teeth.

"Britannia has stolen the same thing from the both of us," Lelouch replied, frowning. "Our names."

Diethard was loving every minute of spreading this across the world. A grin was permanently plastered to his face, and he kept the camera fixed at such an angle that it showed both the mass of disgruntled knights and their unmasked leader.

"Your name?" Nagisa asked, narrowing her eyes. "They took our freedom. They took our rights! And you say they took the same thing?!"

"They killed my mother," Lelouch growled, momentarily losing his cool. "She was assassinated by people who were jealous of her for being a commoner. They crippled and blinded my sister, and sent me to your prime minister to deceive him long enough to prepare an invasion. I lost my father's name. I lost my mother. I was forced into hiding to protect my sister. Tell me, do you believe I would aid a country that did that?"

Nagisa promptly shut up, at a sudden loss for words. One by one, the Black Knights had begun to accept Lelouch all around her, and she was being swayed as well. Was following a Britannian prince so wrong, so long as he was with them? She was starting to doubt her previous thought.

"I refuse to accept it! I refuse to follow the son of my enemy!" Tamaki growled, turning away with a huff. "I'm out of here."

"Can you win without me?" Lelouch asked, his well known cockiness returning. "Tell me, can you win without my aid? I may be a prince, but I am willing to fight with you. I am willing to create a better world. Would you deny me for my prince hood? Shun me for the blood that runs in my veins?" Lelouch smirked as Tamaki stopped, and all eyes that were previously on him returned to Lelouch. "I have lied to you. I have deceived you into fighting for me without your full acceptance. Even so, will you lend me your strength? Will you fight for Japan under the guidance of a scorned Britannian prince?"

His reward was hesitant words of approval showing the skepticism they had to offer, save for Tamaki who simply gave a scornful nod and the Shisei-ken who were far more composed about their acceptance. Lelouch smiled slightly as he watched it all, lifting his mask high into the air, "This is a symbol! It is a face that people look to for hope! For guidance! But to me, it was an excuse to lie. An excuse to manipulate. Let us cast it aside, and continue the battle!"

More cheers followed as he tossed the mask over his head. C.C. entered the room at that moment, catching it easily in her arms. She was surprised to see the sight before her, to say the least. But she was glad as well. "Marianne, your boy is growing up," she whispered inaudibly to herself, a small smile gracing her features.

o--o

_An audience was secured to discuss matters between the Tianzi loyalists under Li Xingke and the Order of the Black Knights under myself. Li Xingke truly was a prodigy; a man excelling in battle, tactics, and everything between. A man that the Black Knights could make much use of in times to come. But his ability in diplomacy made arranging that rather difficult._

_In the end, common ground was found. India was granted it's independence and their forces retreated, satisfied with what they had gained. The Order of the Black Knights were given recognizable control over Kainan Island for our own uses, and an alliance was formed with the Chinese Federation. Our forces combined to pursue common ends, and the Anti-Britannian Front was created, under the joint leadership of Li Xingke and myself._

_But things weren't all uphill._

_Huang Qian had managed to escape Diethard's judgment – and he had failed to tell me so – and gathered all those loyal to the Eunuchs, effectively dividing the Chinese Federation in two. Where we controlled more land and had more resources, they had more sheer force. And they were also the first target of the Anti-Britannian Front._

_War hadn't seen it's end in the Chinese Federation just yet._

_But like all great wars, they always had new toys ready to be revealed at the beginning. The second pacific war had the Knightmare Frame, and now the war in the Chinese Federation would have a weapon far beyond Britannia's technology into the area._

_The new flagship of the new Order of the Black Knights, the Hogosha._

o--o

"Amazing!" Karen gasped, looking in shock at the massive airship in front of her.

"This is..." Suzaku tried, equally impressed by the airship Lelouch had secured.

"The new flagship of the remade Order of the Black Knights, the Hogosha," Lelouch explained with a smile. The airship was nearly two hundred meters in length, completely black save for a silver underside on each of the four wings of the airship, two on each side. The Black Knights symbol was on each wing as well as at the head of the airship, where there was also two barely visible green orbs. A number of guns were attached all over the ship, and two long barrel cannons were attatched to the underside, on either side of the head. Between the cannons was a linear catapult, and above the main body was another area that served as both the command center and as an observation deck.

"It's got a Japanese name," Suzaku remarked, looking at Lelouch. "You aren't hoping something like this will lay their insecurities to rest, are you?"

"No," Lelouch replied immediately, shaking his head. "The Order of the Black Knights are still a Japanese organization, whether we accept others or not," he walked away from the airship toward where Knightmare Frames were being unloaded from their to-be-abandoned G-1 bases and transported onto the Hogosha. "Their trust is something I will need to earn."

Lelouch's Gloucester was the next to be unloaded, along the the Guren Nishiki and the Hakumei. Suzaku had already personally loaded the Lancelot, making sure mechanics were briefed on how to take care of it. Lelouch had already mentioned that expecting the kind of service Lloyd was capable of providing for the Lancelot was pointless, but what they could do was acceptable all the same. In fact, some of Rakshata's engineers – which Lloyd certainly had no access to – were beginning investigations on improvements that could be made on the Frame.

Not that Suzaku believed such a Frame could be improved upon.

Three hours later, the Hogosha was making it's first official launch as the flagship of the Order of the Black Knights. The people of Kainan Island waved frantically as they bid their farewells, and some of the less resolute soldiers amongst the Black Knights shed tears at the sight. Lelouch shed none, of course, but he did seem glad they were so happy.

"We've done good work here," Suzaku soothed, patting Lelouch's shoulder. Lelouch looked over his shoulder, nodding and smiling.

"Don't dwell on the good deeds, however," Lelouch turned away, his smile fading as he began to leave the room – surely to return to C.C.'s side, as he often did when in such a mood, Suzaku thought. "It will make it more painful for you when we have to make the harder decisions."

Suzaku turned to look at Lelouch, worry clearly evident in his eyes. Lelouch seemed to take no note of that worry as he stared at Suzaku however, and said with a grim smile on his face, "Such a time will come."

o--o

The Student Council found themselves with little to do yet again. With the sudden absence of Lelouch and now Nunnally as well, many plans they'd had were put off to the side due to the lack of aid from their Vice-President. Lelouch had been acting strangely as of late, and now he'd simply disappeared from the face of the earth. Nunnally followed suit shortly after, and only one thing was for sure.

One or both of them had something to hide.

"Hey!" Milly broke out of her trance and looked over at the offending set of lips belonging to her orange haired friend Shirley. Shirley was gaping as she looked at the television, pointing dumbly at it, "Isn't that the guy working for Zero..." she trailed off, tapping her finger to her cheek as she tried to recall his name.

"Diethard Ried," Milly finished, raising an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"Didn't your father have his broadcast banned throughout Ashford because of him being a wanted criminal?" Shirley asked, looking over at Milly quizzically.

Milly shrugged, "He allowed it again recently. Apparently Zero's work in the Chinese Federation has been more... 'noble than that of your typical terrorist', he said," Milly used her fore and middle fingers as quotations for emphasis, shaking her head. "He's still a criminal, the way I see it."

"Shh!" Rivalz hissed, directing toward the TV.

Diethard sat in a dimly lit room, smiling widely as he spoke to someone off set about something or another. When he directed his focus back to the camera, he smiled wider still, saying, "Britannian citizens have been in an uproar as of late, with the latest ultimatum delivered by the world's savior, Zero. People have risen in protest, demanding answers regarding the publicized release of Zero's meeting with his supporters earlier today, after a large conflict with the divided Chinese Federation forces outside Zhanjiang was abruptly called to a halt."

Shirley and Milly looked to eachother, reasonably interested in this. "Something that made citizens protest?" Milly asked in a hushed whisper, raising her eyebrows.

Rivalz shot a look in the direction of both girls, and they rolled their eyes in sync before erupting into hushed laughter, earning them a full glare from the enraptured student.

The screen faded to a clearly recorded video where it showed a mass – thousands, if not tens of thousands – of soldiers standing, each looking enraged beyond belief. Everyone watched on as a strangely familiar voice began speaking, and then the camera changed angle to show not only the mass of Black Knights, but their unmasked leader as well. Shirley stared dumbfounded at the screen, not quite comprehending what she was seeing. "Is that...?" her voice left her, and her slowly widening eyes had by that point widened to the point that it stung slightly.

"...Lelouch," Rivalz finished, his usually cheerful voice replaced with one so stunned it made people flinch. Sure enough, before them was Lelouch, preaching on about how he was a prince betrayed and how his efforts to break down Britannia's Darwinist walls were genuine. With each harsh reprimand toward Britannia he spoke, each of his friends felt another knife stab into them, forced to do nothing more than listen to his painful history.

"That's right," all eyes turned toward the doorway abruptly, where V.V. stood, Kewell and Villeta right behind him. All three strode into the room, the small child in front smirking while the two behind him wore looks of cold indifference. "Your friend, your emperor's son, is a traitor to us all."

"H-he's being lied to, right?" Shirley tried, shaking her head wildly. "He isn't that... type of person..."

"He's someone who weaves lies. He makes you see what he wants you to see, while he's something completely different. The Lelouch you see now," he paused, pointing toward the T.V. where Lelouch was standing in front of slowly accepting Black Knights, swearing his devotion to their cause. "The Lelouch leading the Order of the Black Knights. The Lelouch preparing to slay his own father for revenge... that is his true side. In a world without lies, that is what you see."

o--o

Lelouch and Xingke sat together in the command center of the Hogosha, backs to each other as they took in reports from their own respective subordinates at two different comm stations. While Lelouch dealt with live feeds from Suzaku and Karen as well as a phone call from Todo – who were engaging rebel forces in the provinces of Yunnan, Hunan and Sichuan respectively, Xingke was taking live feeds from Xianglin and Hong Gu who were fighting in different parts of the large Qinghai province.

It had been a long few weeks since the alliance was sealed between the Chinese Federation and the Order of the Black Knights, and now New Years was waiting just around the corner. Lelouch's birthday had come and gone with nothing more than a long talk with Suzaku and a letter someone had delivered him from Nunnally – who was still, to his great displeasure, adverse to speaking to him directly despite being on the same ship as him. Christmas hadn't even been recognized, but Lelouch was glad for that; the younger of his soldiers really didn't need to be distracted by such things.

In fact, the only thing the war weary leader got for Christmas in the year of 2017 was more victory. Battles against the rebels had been a landslide in the favor of the Anti-Britannian Front, and they'd already been reduced to no more than resistance groups without a leader, spread across the provinces surrounding the capital Luo Yang. The last of the Eunuchs' hold on the Federation had been eliminated within the first week of conflict, and the Anti-Britannian Front had gained well over ten thousand in surrendering troops since. Guerilla tactics were the only thing keeping the rebel forces fighting, however.

"Good work, Todo. Remain in Chengdu until I send new orders," Lelouch hung up, placing his phone off to the side and groaning loudly. It had grown tiresome for everyone to continue this fighting, especially when the Japanese amongst the Black Knights were looking forward to retaking Area 11. But this had also provided Lelouch the time he needed to further development projects to make sure everything was ready for their invasion, and so the only ones that really complained were the ones who simply wanted a bone to pick with Lelouch.

Suzaku and Karen's feeds were cut as well a moment later, and Lelouch slumped back in his seat. He ran a slightly chilled hand through his hair, finding it frosted at the tips from the cold air that had enveloped the Hogosha for the past couple weeks. Were it not for the heat they had running through the ship, he would have been shaking within the comfort of a large blanket, he was sure.

He never had liked the cold.

"Hong Gu has captured another four hundred rebels as well as ten more Frames. What's happening on your end?" Xingke swivelled in his chair so he was facing Lelouch who turned enough to see Xingke from the corner of his eye.

"Todo has eliminated the last of the rebel forces in the Sichuan province. Those who surrendered and captives are being transferred to our holding facilities in Chengdu. Karen and Suzaku are running into some trouble, but the rebels' hideouts have been found by our scouts," Xingke gave a brief nod before turning away again.

That was the extent of any of their talks. They would give brief reports on what their own subordinates were doing, acknowledge the information they received, and that would be it. With minds like their's few things needed to be said aloud, and understanding and comprehension usually came with no more than a brief look or – in some cases – complete silence between the two.

The hours continued to drag on in such fashion. Both went on with their own more independant projects; Lelouch going over reports Rakshatta had filed regarding work on the Gun-Ru's successor, the Han-Shu, which was so far looking to be the focal point of their military. The speed capabilities they'd included coupled with it's increased firepower in the form of two shoulder mounted cannons as well as a single right arm with a rifle, added to the fact that the design allowed for it to maintain the Gun-Ru's advantage of being cost friendly made it a force to be reckoned with. Certainly not on par with the advancing technologies of the Black Knights or that of Britannia, but the combination of tactics and sheer numbers was sure to make it more than capable of measuring up to Britannia's forces.

Xingke, meanwhile, was occupying his time doing the opposite; while Lelouch was bolstering their offensive strength, Xingke was working on weakening the defences present in Area 11. Already he had managed to organize several covert attacks on Britannian military bases that were easily masked as upstart terrorists seeking to make a name apart from the one Zero presented – which was easy to do with the recent revelation of Zero being a Britannian prince. More than fifty Knightmare Frames had already either been destroyed or captured, only to be quickly destroyed the moment Britannia recoiled in the case of the latter. But the small hits were taking their tole on Cornelia's forces, and it wouldn't be long before she was forced to send a request for more supplies from the homeland which were already being used almost exclusively by second prince Schneizel in his attacks on the EU.

The Anti-Britannian Front was taking control of the world, bit by bit.

It was nearing midnight when Lelouch finally stood up, stretching his stiffened bones before turning toward the doorway. He said sternly, "Don't let fatigue get to you. We need to be ready to fight," before walking toward the doorway. He stopped mid-step as his phone began to vibrate in his hand, and he answered it immediately, "Hello?"

A minute or so of pure silence and confused glances later, Lelouch shut his phone and pocketed it with an audible growl. He turned on his heel, returning to his comm station and bringing up all feeds he could on demand. "Cancel sleep plans, we've got more important matters."

"Such as?" Xingke asked, having returned to his work, not looking at Lelouch as he asked.

"Avalon is on it's way."

I hope this chapter wasn't _too_ bad.The ending was rather abrupt, but I unintentionally dragged things on a little and I had nothing else that needed writing this chapter. But the ending is okay anyway, and there's a small plus in the fact that it's not exactly a cliffhanger, unlike the past two chapters. Sorry to many if you were expecting more from the Zero's identity issue, but the people's reception of that will be an ongoing thing, much like the bond between Suzaku and Lelouch is (although you can expect the former to receive far more consistent attention).

The Han-Shu, as my more Three Kingdoms aware readers may think, is indeed a reference to the Shu-Han founded by Liu Bei. This was more or less in response to the review from F-14 Tomcat Lover debating that Lelouch in this fic is more like Liu Bei, but it's still fitting at the same time. So if you've noticed the trend, you can probably guess that there's more Three Kingdoms Era references to come. Personally, I would say one way or the either, because I certainly won't throw them in pointlessly.


	14. Land of Reparation

This chapter is going to be hectic. From the first confrontation between Lelouch and Schneizel to the seeds of deceit being planted, things are really going to start turning more toward the complete chaos side of things here.

Also, the chapter name is a reference to Avalon (King Arthur went there to recover after his fight with Mordred, whom Lelouch can be compared to). I thought the idea was rather witty on my part.

* * *

Villeta stood in body numbing shock as she looked at the sight before her. Kewell's face displayed nothing more than a cool indifference, but his shaking hands betrayed his true shock. Bedtime stories pertaining to the paranormal and such things ran through their heads at headache inducing speeds; neither had done anything but cast such stories aside in the past, but the reality they were now faced with was one they couldn't really deny. Granted, the sight before them was not anything any bedtime story had ever spoke of, but the general principle should have been the same, they reasoned. Taking it all in, there was only one thing Villeta could say, "Such a... place exists?"

Buildings towered high in this underground cavern, streets were present, as were streetlights and all other signs of modern technology from what Villeta could tell. Needless to say, it didn't look like an underground cavern at all. Everything had an eerie purple glow to it, from the purple pillar – or whatever it was; Villeta was determined to find out - in the middle of the town. Their vantage point gave them a grand view of the entire Directorate, and that did little to put Villeta's shock to rest; after all, seeing something so unrealistically eerie was bound to be shocking.

"This is our sanctuary," V.V. explained as he turned to walk away, his two new subordinates in tow. They made their way down a steep pathway lined with dim purple lights and to the main street where several people – mostly women and children – went about everyday life as if there was nothing different between their lives and the lives Villeta and Kewell lived. Or used to live, Villeta added somewhat bitterly.

"An underground cavern is a sanctuary to people like you?" Kewell asked snidely, smirking slightly as the shock began to wear off. V.V. simply nodded, not saying anything as they turned down another road where they now saw a group of small children grouped around a much older one, begging him to play with them. The eldest one had purple eyes reminiscent of the Emperor himself and short brown hair. He looked only a little bit happy in the presence of the children, but the look of longing in his eyes – the look that told anyone with enough perception that he had many unfulfilled desires – was not missed by Villeta. In a different sense, he looked absolutely miserable.

The group continued past the children with no more than a passing glance, and continued on their way. It wasn't long before the base of the large pillar came into view, and a feeling of aprehension overcame both Villeta and Kewell. That kind of feeling that told them, 'Stop now, because if you don't you won't be able to go back.' Naturally both ignored the wise advice completely, and the nagging feeling in the back of their heads went away completely as they passed under a small archway at the base.

"Lord V.V.!" an elderly man called, rushing over and embracing the small child. "Who are these people?" he asked, turning toward Villeta and Kewell.

"Villeta Nu and Kewell Soresi," V.V. responded, smiling a very weak smile. "They are to be put into training immediately. They will be needed shortly."

"Shall we continue to watch Lelouch?" the man asked, frowning slightly.

"Charles wants us to," V.V. stated with a small shrug. "We won't bother though. Let him do as he pleases," V.V. smirked as he saw the knowing look in the elderly man's eyes.

"For now," the man finished.

o--o

_Schneizel El Britannia..._

_Like Odysseus, he was more a father figure to me in my childhood than my own father was. He was likewise occupied in other matters – such as his rigorous studies that have made him the man he is now – but he, unlike my father, had a kind heart and took time for Nunnally and I._

_Like it is said to, war changed him, however. He lost much of that warmth, hiding it away and turning into the calculating and harsh commander he is now. He shows no compassion on the battlefield, and he isn't beyond sacrificing a great many things if it furthers his own goals. His warm and caring side is expressed very selectively, Clovis has said, and that the kind Schneizel has become a distant memory._

_Odysseus was much different, in a way. He is an inept man when compared to the likes of Cornelia or Schneizel, but his kind heart has always remained intact. When he smiles for cameras or waves pilotely to people, they aren't facades used to better the public's opinion of him. They are genuine shows of kindness that make the public love him, but made his fellow brothers – who's bids for the throne are more evident – hate him._

_But when it came to matters of war, he was as useful as Euphemia was. He could rally men together, but his knowledge of tactics and his talents as a leader were minimal at best, drawing primarily from the faith others had in him. But what help that provided ran short when it came to actual combat, as he was well known as a coward in such matters. He'd told me in privavte that the truth of the matter was that he held dislike toward fighting as a whole, and preferred to leave such matters to the more calculating minds in the empire like his father and Schneizel._

_These two men, one the cold and calculating leader who's care for his half-brother has probably faded in the seven years he presumed me dead, and the other the kind half-brother who would be able to rally far more men together to fight me – whether he wanted to or not – than Schneizel alone could. They made quite possibly the most fearsome combination of leadership that Britannia had to offer. And I am to fight them._

o--o

"Their forces outnumber our own, but the difference isn't great," Lelouch looked at the tactical map spread out over the table in front of him, frowning. "Schneizel will target Luo Yang, as I doubt he suspects we'd keep Her Highness Jiang Lihua --"

"-- The Tianzi," Xingke corrected, frowning.

"Right," Lelouch nodded, glowering at Xingke momentarily. "They wouldn't suspect we'd keep her with us, and so his presence in Xi'an means he doesn't want there to be anywhere for her to run when he moves on Luo Yang," Lelouch nodded to himself, pleased with this deduction. "Either that, or he's making this move wanting us to believe that is his motives, when really his primary objective is taking us out and this is to lure us in."

"If that's the case, it doesn't matter. We can't allow Britannia's presence in our land to go without response. This is an open declaration of war," Xingke continued, frowning. "But why would they act so quickly...?"

"Britannia's hold on Area 11 is critical to their administration of the entire empire. It's capture would send the world into a spiral as massive rebellions all along the Britannian homefront. And they know that with the Order of the Black Knights in a figurehead position of the Anti-Britannian Front, that is our aim. They want us out of the picture before that becomes the case," Lelouch explained, smiling. "This battle will be a tough one, to be sure. Schneizel is every bit as intelligent as we are, and his military is about as strong as well. Whoever comes up with the better plan, however, will win the day."

"Signals detected! They've begun to attack the city!" Ogi's voice sounded shaken as he reported from the comm station, and Lelouch glared at nobody in particular as he took it in.

"That's Schneizel," he said, shaking his head. "He's willing to dispose of whatever he needs to if it gets him what he wants..." Xingke glanced over at Lelouch, searching his eyes for the same certainty that he hoped he'd never see leave the purple eyes of the Britannian prince. Lelouch nodded, readjusting the headset placed around his ear so it reached the edge of his lip, "Tamaki, Todo, prepare your squadrons for launch. Hong Gu will head up the First Gun-Ru Corps. Someone get Suzaku and tell him to launch as well. We're not letting this battle go Schneizel's way."

Within no more than ten minutes, the area outside of Xi'an had become a massive battleground. Sutherlands with an unexpectedly large amount of Gloucester fought valiantly against the black Burai and Sutherlands of the Black Knights while Suzaku headed up the charge, cutting through the enemy like butter. Pulling up the rear was Hong Gu and the masses of Gun-Ru, firing when there was an opening in the line of the Black Knights' line.

"A line of Gloucester are attacking from the side!" Minami reported, turning to face Lelouch and Xingke. "Ten in all! They came from nowhere!"

"They're using transport carriers to deploy their Frames," Lelouch didn't miss a beat, smirking as he came up with a countermeasure. "Send Suzaku to hold them at bay, and send Nagisa's squad to take out the dam on the Wei river."

The line of Burai and Sutherland pushed forward in tandem with the reinforcements from Nagisa's squad, and it wasn't long before the pathway toward the dam had been opened. Lelouch grinned victoriously as Nagisa took out the dam, and the signal lost message was shown in place of the entirety of the Gloucester squadron. "Good. Have Suzaku attack their right flank with Nagisa's squad. We'll put a little pressure on them."

"Have Zhou Xianglin oversee the launch of the Second Gun-Ru Corps and attack the right flank with Senba's squad," he paused to look toward Lelouch, who nodded his agreement. "We'll attack from all three flanks and drive them to the Wei river!"

o--o

"Ha ha! Is this all the great White Prince can do?!" Tamaki laughed, pushing his lance through a Sutherland with ease. Next to him Suzaku was engaged with three Sutherland, trying as best he could to navigate around them to take them out. In the end, he managed to flip over one, taking a solid swing into it's upper body with his MVS, and as he landed he spun around and swung again, forcing the other two to eject along with the first.

"Don't underestimate him. Lelouch has spoke of him as an equal to him," Suzaku scolded, firing a slash harken at an approaching Gloucester and then moving to deliver the final blow with the MVS. Before he could even begin to recover from that he was forced to move again, easily avoiding another lance as a Gloucester passed by harmlessly, instead being caught up in battle with two Burai.

"Tch, who cares what that cocky prince of our's has to say," Tamaki retorted bemusedly, taking out another Sutherland and moving so he and Suzaku were back to back. They'd pushed farther ahead than the main line, and found themselves surrounded by Sutherland and Gloucester alike. "I take it this is a ploy of Schneizel's?"

Suzaku grunted in agreement, trying to figure out how best to go about breaking free of the encirclement without leave Tamaki to be picked off. _'I could do that... no, but then... dammit!'_ he punched the controls in front of him in rage, suddenly feeling completely helpless. He hated the feeling, he realized quickly. He liked feeling like he was in control, and now he was being pulled along by Schneizel's string.

"They aren't going to let us wait, you know!" Tamaki growled, pushing himself forward to join the fray once again. He managed to take out one of the Sutherland with minimal effort, but that did little more than a dent in the enemy's plan as another Sutherland took it's place, and they all moved in to attack Tamaki. Suzaku pushed him aside and took his place, dodging and weaving around the attacks and attacking when possible. Through the combined efforts of his speedy movements and Tamaki's assistance, they managed to break free of the encirclement and pull back to the main line where the Britannian forces were swiftly losing their ground and, with it, their chance at taking control of the Guanzhong Plains.

"Y-you..." a seemingly terrified soldier whimpered, so quietly that Suzaku had to take a moment before he realized that the pitiful whimper came from the Sutherland opposite him. "You used to fight for Britannia, right... so why..."

"Your prince wants to change the world," Suzaku stated without pause, poising the MVS to strike. "The path that Lelouch Vi Britannia is taking is the one the world should be taking. I will not waver," and in a move that shocked many, he struck into the side of the Sutherland with such force that the ejecting cockpit was thrown off course, narrowly escaping the throng of battle in it's flight to safety. "Yes... I will not waver. I will spill blood if necessary, as Lelouch said we must."

"Lelouch Vi Britannia this, Lelouch Vi Britannia that..." Suzaku turned, having only a split second to bring his MVS to his front to defend before another MVS crashed into it. Suzaku hissed and closed his eyes for a moment, only to have them wide in shock when he did open them again.

A black Lancelot.

"Y-you..." Suzaku gasped, momentarily losing his focus.

"Lelouch Vi Britannia is scum. He's a traitor to his father, his country, and his name!" the black Lancelot's pilot cried, pulling out a second MVS and attacking. Suzaku did the same, and the two caught themselves in an unending stalemate. Both tried to overpower the other, but every turn – evey flip, every maneuver – was read perfectly by the other, bringing them back to the same stalemate they'd started in.

"Lelouch Vi Britannia is not _scum_!" Suzaku retorted, trying in vain once again to take the upper hand. All it got him, however, was another stalemate in a different position. The battle continued to rage on around them, almost heedless of their own conflict. "Lelouch is what this world needs! He may start conflicts, he may kill people without remorse, and he may have betrayed his family..." what Suzaku said next surprised even him, and those around him were just as shocked. "These are necessary evils to change this world! And Lelouch can do that!"

Tamaki didn't even try to suppress his howl of approval as he moved by, charging at a Sutherland and taking it out with a single swipe, "The White Knight is right! Lelouch is our enemy's son, but he's our friend! Let's take down these assholes! For Japan... for the world!"

If only the fight against the black Lancelot was one that could be so easily won.

o--o

"Divert Carlos' squad to attack from the side. Eric's squad is to proceed toward their flagship and engage any reinforcements they deploy. The rest of our forces still have the advantage, and we can keep it that way. Don't let them drive us to the river!" Schneizel ordered, smiling a very calm smile as people all about him hastened to repeat his new orders. "You've grown, Lelouch. But you're still not my equal. Not with that flaw of your's."

"Bertram's squad has been decimated! They're requesting reinforcements!" the man seated at the Avalon's comm station reported, visibly sweating. As was common amongst Schneizel's men he wore a long, white coat, his in particular reading _'CIC, Neil Brigmond'_. Next to him was a man watching four separate radars simultaneously, his white coat reading _'Analytical Advisor, Darin Carlisle'_. There were ten others seated at various stations throughout the Avalon's command center, all working diligently at their assigned tasks.

"Abandon them," Schneizel responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If we provide reinforcements to that side, Lelouch will be free to push his attack from the front. We can't take the risk with Lelouch," he explained, looking over his shoulder to Lloyd who was grinning in a carefree manner, seemingly careless of the fact that his prized development – the Lancelot – was now engaged with his replica of the same Frame. He was far too pleased with the capabilities of it's pilot. "Come with me, Lloyd. Let's speak ..." he winked an eye for good measure, smirking. "Alone."

Several eyebrows rose at the rather suggestive comment. All in fact, save for two – Kanon Maldini, and Lloyd himself. Kanon chuckled under his breath as he moved to stand, looking toward Schneizel as he stood as well, giving a curt nod for Kanon to follow. The three remained in utter silence until they had reached the hangar and were safely within it's restricted section, standing in front of a massive Knightmare Frame.

It stood more than two metres taller than any of the Sutherland or Gloucester in the lower areas of the hangar, it's head nearly reaching the high ceiling above. It was a unique mix of black and yellow – black in body, yellow in the hips, chest, shoulders, and head – with a maroon coloured, sun shaped piece attached to the back. There were orange diamonds on the shins and on all sides of the points jutting out from the shoulders, and it all screamed one thing.

Overwhelming.

"The IFX-V301 Gawain..." Schneizel smiled up at the pride of his work, truly content with the mammoth of a Knightmare Frame before him. "So, Lloyd, it's nearing it's completion is it not?"

"The Hadron technology is still too erratic to harness, but we're working on it," Lloyd replied with a grin. "But everything else is working perfectly. The Druid system has been perfected, as has the integration of the Float System – although unfortunately the latter is no longer a technological advancement for Britannia's scientists now that the majority of the Anti-Britannian Front's main Knightmare Frames all have Float Systems as well. The extended time frame you offered us allowed me to expand on the power of the Yggdrasil drive, and the increased power allowed us to include what we like to call the Maximum Defense Generator – a massive MSV shield that covers the entire upper body of the Frame. The Hadron cannons can't be used while the shield is up due to the power consumption, but that's a small price to pay for giving it the distinction of being both the strongest Knightmare Frame and the one with the greatest defense," a hearty and pleased laugh followed, showing every bit of Lloyd's true pride over his development."

"It truly is worthy of being considered your finest achievement, although we'll hold back any judgment until it's completed. We have to hurry, though, because my father is growing increasingly suspicious of my independant actions. _Operation Muhon_ will fail if he catches wind of it, I'm afraid," both Lloyd and Kanon nodded their heads in agreement. "Our time will come soon, men, and we will hold all the cards in our hands."

"Your Highness, removing Lelouch is also necessary," Kanon added with a frown. Schneizel nodded a wordless agreement, looking at Kanon quizzically. "Why then are we toying with him?"

"We have to," Schneizel answered, scowling. "Lelouch has been proved to work best under pressure. To beat him we must engage him on equal terms. Any other way and Lelouch will pull through with one of Zero's miracles."

"Zero is a mask. A means to hide himself from the world. There are no miracles in his fear," Kanon retorted.

"He has something on his side that we're not aware of, and he's using it to grant miracles. People called Jeremiah crazy for the mental lapse he had in Shinjuku, but I believe him. Lelouch has a strange power that he's using to control the world to bend to his every whim. We have to make sure we don't fall victim to it, whatever it is," Schneizel explained, closing his eyes. "If we're to remove him completely, we have to figure out what this power is. It's not something known to the world, though, I am certain of that much. And it's something terrible."

o--o

"It's the Shen-Hu! Lord Xingke has joined the battle!"

"We can win with the Tiger God with us!"

Despite the worry and occasional fear that came with being the unfortunate pilot of a Gun-Ru, the many pilots of Gun-Ru caught in the carnage of battle felt hope renewed as the Shen-Hu hovered above them, firing his Baryon cannon down at the Britannian lines, taking out two Sutherland immediately. Out from behind the Shen-Hu came the Hakumei, firing it's Fukushahado cannon down at the enemy.

"Nagisa, attack from Point C! Senba and Tamaki attack from Point D! Hong Gu, join up with Suzaku and push the attack! The Guren is on it's way to reinforce you now!" Xingke ordered swiftly, charging at the enemy, one slash harken spinning in defence until he had reached the ground, releasing his landspinners as he touched down and flinging his slash harken into the nearest Sutherland. "Asahina, you're to attack from Point B! Todo is on his way to assume command of your squad now. We must stop Schneizel from pushing us back!"

A lance from a Gloucester narrowly missed Xingke and he growled, spinning the Shen-Hu in a complex manner and kicking the Gloucester with such force that the pieces connecting the body to it's arms were lost, and – left without arms – the pilot immediately ejected. Britannian forces that caught sight of such a spectacle immediately halted in momentary fear, and that was all Xingke needed to turn the tide, "Sugiyama, take care of their retreating forces to the side! Nagisa, push the attack more! That side is crumbling!"

Despite their finest efforts, however, Xingke quickly found that his every move was being predicted with frightening accuracy. When he moved a squad to attack one point Schneizel would press further on another point, and it wasn't long before the changing tide was once again changing, with Xingke flailing to salvage the situation. Every attempt failed however, and though the numbers were shifting in their favor, Britannia was gaining ground on them. It wasn't long after that when Xingke realized the folly of his efforts, all too late, however.

They'd been driven into the flooded area. Their landspinners began screeching beneath them as they fought to keep their ground, but it was to no avail. They were trapped, with the exception of himself, Suzaku and C.C. who escaped to the safety of the air. The forces below, however, were sitting ducks, unable to do anything but stand their ground and fire at any nearing forces. That tactic in itself had some merit, but the novelty quickly wore out.

Xingke had never felt so completely defeated.

"Karen, head up the defence!" Xingke quickly ordered. Sighing to himself, he fastened his headset securely onto his head, eyes dropping toward his lap for a split second before he regained his composure, "Lelouch, we only have one option! Prepare to launch it!"

o--o

Lelouch slammed his fist into the table angrily, muttering things under his breath that went unheard, although things such as 'played for a fool' and 'needing revenge' were said with such disdain that strained ears picked them up. "Rakshata, prepare to launch the pack," he ordered as soon as he'd pulled himself together. Not waiting for an answer he turned toward Ogi, "Patch me through to Karen as well."

Raven tresses of hair fell over his face, but he didn't pay any attention to them in his musings. He was hoping; _praying_, even, that there was something he could come up with that would outsmart Schneizel. But, like he and Xingke both knew, Schneizel's victory had been perfect. It left no room for a true victory, and the only one that could be obtained now was the one where the Anti-Britannian Front wasn't decimated.

Which is exactly – much to Lelouch's disdain – what they planned to do now.

"Karen here. What is it, Lelouch?" she sounded irritated, which wasn't surprising given their position. Their first real battle following the tactical mind of Lelouch Vi Britannia, and the Anti-Britannian Front was faced with a dire situation. It certainly didn't look good on Lelouch's part, and she knew that.

"Xingke, pick her up," Lelouch responded simply. Karen gasped, stuttering in her demands for an explanation, but all went unheard until the Shen-Hu had already wrapped his wired slash harkens around her, hoisting her up into the air with a strength nearly unknown to Knightmare Frames. She continued to protest vehemently as he carried her higher and higher, and then, Lelouch gave one simple word as a response, "Drop."

Rakshata smiled as the Guren dropped toward the ground, as it gave her the free room necessary to do what she did, "Launch the upgrade set!"

"Karen, trust me," Lelouch said soothingly, trying to calm the girl now on the border of hysterics. She immediately calmed some, but was still fuming rather vehemently, "Remove your head and your arms. Just trust me," despite her misgivings Karen did as he said, and almost as soon as she'd lost her claw arm it had been replaced with another, and afterwards came a new second arm and head and then, lastly, an attachment that went straight to her back. When the transformation was complete Karen had to hit a button to the side – one she hadn't seen before, she added – and the wings now on her back spread out, keeping her stabilized in midair.

"Th-this is..." Karen was truly at a loss for words, quickly trying to acquaint herself with all the changes to her beloved Frame.

"The Guren Mk II Aerial-Type," Lelouch responded quickly, smiling a victorious smile. He turned to Ogi and gave him an okay signal, and in a matter of seconds his headset was projecting his voice to every Frame they had deployed, "Todo, man the defence of the isolated troops! Xingke, C.C., Suzaku and Karen!"

"Yes!" they all responded at once. Lelouch smiled wider still.

"Attack the Avalon."

o--o

"Your Highness!" Darin called frantically, sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He pulled his white coat from his body, using a sleeve to swiftly wipe the sweat from the back of his neck before continuing, "The Anti-Britannian Front is attacking us from the air! Your orders?"

Schneizel sighed, his smile fading from his lips, "You've disappointed me, Lelouch. You run even from defeat..." he looked to his crew, a weary smile replacing his genuine one. "Recall our forces, and have Rai hold up the rear. Lelouch knows the Avalon is suited for Knightmare Frame combat; this is still our victory, however."

"Yes, Your Highness!" everyone voiced in unison before turning to their duties once again. Schneizel leaned back in his seat, watching out the front as the Shen-Hu, Guren Aerial-Type and Hakumei charged toward them, the Lancelot coming up behind at a considerably slower speed with his Float System backpack.

It wasn't long before they caught wind of the retreating Britannian forces and turned to pull back. Several people released subconsciously held breaths of relief, but Schneizel just frowned. He pitied Lelouch, really, for being so weak. "You're fighting a useless battle, Lelouch." He stood up, stepping forward slightly and looking toward Neil, "Patch us through to their flagship. I would like to speak with Lelouch."

Neil nodded and set to work. Schneizel took a seat nearer the front and waited, eyes not leaving the front where – with any luck – Lelouch's face would be appearing shortly. Just as this thought crossed his mind it happened, and the scowling face of the Black Prince was shown to the entirety of the Avalon's command center. Schneizel smiled at his brother, waving gently, "Hello, little brother."

"You haven't contacted us for pleasantries, Schneizel," Lelouch shot back immediately. His eyes narrowed and his nose scrunched up, and the look would have looked adorable were it not for the look of evident dislike in his eyes. "State your business for contacting your enemy. That's all we are now, after all."

"We may not share a mother, but we are still brothers, Lelouch. Certainly you haven't forgotten my kindness to you as a child."

"Your kindness was lost to your ruthlessness. The only brothers I still acknowledge are Clovis and Odysseus," he nodded toward Odysseus, who was seated off to the side. Odysseus gave a small wave and a weak smile in response. "The rest of you are nothing more than enemies I must crush to create my ideal world."

"Your ideal world?" Schneizel questioned with a smile.

"A world where people like you don't wander around, carefree of the people that suffer beneath you. A world where those that suffer no longer do. A world that those people deserve for all their torment," Lelouch explained with a wave of the hand. "The kind of world that was crushed by people like you and Charles."

"You mean our father," Schneizel corrected, undaunted by Lelouch's speech.

"He's no more my father than you are my brother. Both of you are enemies to the Anti-Britannian Front, to the Japanese and, by extension, to me. And I will not waver in crushing both of you," Lelouch shot back.

"You're no match for me, Lelouch," Schneizel smiled widely upon seeing the look of rage and confusion on his half-brother's face. "Not with that attitude."

"Do explain," Lelouch pressed, his confidence lost to a disdainful frown.

"Ever since Marianne's death, you've been running. When you went into hiding to protect Nunnally, wasn't that also to escape father? Tell me I'm wrong." Lelouch said nothing, and so Schneizel continued, "The past seven years, you've been running. You've been running from your past. And until you embrace your past and move on, you'll be no match for me."

o--o

The room was filled with the unbearable sound of glass shattering as the small dish collided with the wall, followed by a weak kick from the raging Lelouch. He glared at nothing in particular as he continued his rampage as quietly as he could – after all, he didn't need others knowing Schneizel had gotten under his skin. The only witness to his insatiable rage was C.C. who simply sat there, watching him with a quirked eyebrow.

It wasn't long before Lelouch managed to calm himself enough to seat himself on his bed, although his chest still heaved with his heavy breathing as he vented. "Schneizel..." he ground his teeth in rage, slamming a fist onto the bed next to him. "I will _not_ crawl back to father! I will not give in to those two!"

"You don't have to," Lelouch looked over to C.C. who was now making her way toward him. She dropped to her knees in front of him, looking at him with a stern expression, "But you can't keep running. If you continue to allow yourself to be fueled by your desire to get back at Charles, then you will never succeed. Remember what Clovis told you?"

"Never let myself succumb to the desire for revenge... but, mother! Nunnally! I can't ignore what has happened to them! And everyone else! My father has taken part in many atrocities, and I'm supposed to look past them?!" Lelouch growled deep in his throat, shaking his head. "My father is not worth my forgiveness," he spat.

"No, he's not," C.C. responded, glaring at Lelouch so angrilly that Lelouch was forced to avert his eyes. "But if you want to make him pay, make him pay because he deserves it. If you continue to hunt him down with nothing but retribution in mind, you will not win. Remember that," and with that she stood, returning to her own bed and laying down again.

"'Because he deserves it'..." he quoted in a low whisper. He continued to think on those words for several minutes before he smiled slightly, nodding to himself. "So I shouldn't fight for retribution, but for the future... I see."

C.C., having heard, rolled over to look at him, "With Geass, you can make that possible. Even without Zero you can create miracles, just like you said. Your desires gave you the strength to defeat your father." She pointed at his left eye, giving him a rare smile, "Revenge won't get you anywhere, in the end."

"Yes, I know..." Lelouch nodded again, laying down on his side, staring at C.C. with one eye, the other covered by his arm under his head. "What of you? You have desires, do you not? Your end of our contract?"

"I have none. Just what will come when all is said and done," C.C. answered without batting an eye.

"None? You don't want anything?" Lelouch seemed genuinely confused by the prospect, C.C. noticed. He blinked twice before continuing, "You don't want to be loved? To be shown compassion? To have friends?"

"Lelouch," C.C. stopped him abruptly, frowning at him. "I don't want any of those because I no longer know how to feel them. Why would I need them?"

Lelouch said nothing at first. Slowly, almost tentatively, however, he stood. He walked over to her bed and sat next to her, looking down at her, "Neither do I. I've been given nothing but torment my entire life. The only people I can look to for real compassion are Nunnally and Clovis, and even they have forsaken me for the path I have chosen," he smiled sadly at her, shaking his head. "But we are partners. If we don't care for each other, how can we expect anyone else to?"

"You're a commander, Lelouch," C.C. responded sternly, sitting up. "Showing emotion is a weakness."

"I promised you I would defeat Geass' loneliness," he leaned in and, despite C.C.'s attempts to push him away, placed a soft kiss on her cheek. His lips lingered only for a split second before he pulled back, and he knew that the heat rising to his cheeks wasn't simply a byproduct of his unfamiliarity with women. "We have each other. I care for you, and I will protect you. I will protect everyone, and I will defeat my father. And we will defeat Geass, together."

* * *

This one was fun to write. There was a little bit of LelouchxC.C. fluff for the people out there who have been waiting for it; I certainly enjoyed delivering it. But there was also a bit of confusion, particularly in the Schneizel department, for me to address; another AU factor is that, save for Charles and people I've shown to be otherwise, nobody – not even Schneizel – knows even the slightest about Geass. So, basically, act as though Schneizel never found the Thought Elevator of Kaminejima, because he didn't here.

Unfortunately, however, that bit of fluff I spoke of and so kindly delivered also serves as an apology. See, I've been having an idea for a Fire Emblem fic, and so I will be taking a couple days to get a basic outline done to turn that into a side project. At the most, it'll delay the next update by three days, I'm thinking. Hopefully less if my inspiration remains strong, but I make no promises.

And I apologize to anyone who is disappointed or displeased with the fact that I modified the Gawain, but with the vast change in timeline (the story is now well into the one year lapse between the two seasons as far as date goes) I felt it wasn't unreasonable for more work to have been put into the Gawain's armaments. This is also due to the fact that I will not at any point in time introduce the Shinkiro, so the new Gawain is more or less a go-between for the two.

Let's move on to more important things. We now have a relatively solid storyline coming together here, so I'll ask a couple questions. No, you don't have to answer them if you review, but they're there should you want to. This is also to give the people who haven't been reviewing simply because they having nothing to say something to review about – I'm not fishing for more reviews, but if having something to review about will get me a review, I won't knock it.

Okay, first question. This question will be asked at the end of every chapter from here on, so get used to it. I've noticed a couple people review making predictions about what will happen next. So, I'll ask just that. What do you think will happen next? What twists, what changes, what... whatever do you foresee occurring next? I'm interested to see what you come up with.

Secondly, now that I've firmly established Suzaku as an ally without reprimand (and have been slowly edging him up the scale of importance), I have to ask: Who, if anyone, would you like him to be paired with? I make no promises that I will pair him off, but if what the public demands fits in the scope of my story, I may just do it.

And lastly, we've revealed that Villeta and Kewell now have knowledge of Geass. What do you think, if any, their Geass abilities are? I won't say anything, but seeing what you guys come up with would be interesting.

That's all, and again I'm sorry for the brief delay that is to come. Hopefully next chapter will make up for the break?


	15. Of Light and Dark

Sorry for the wait!

I felt that had to come before anything else. Hopefully those of you that decided to check out my Fire Emblem fic were satisfied with that until this came along, but I'm not expecting a whole lot. That fic – depending on the feedback – will be an ongoing side project, but if it makes everyone feel better this fic will continue to take priority. I can't promise that will always be the case; I act on my whims, after all.

As for why I will not introduce the Shinkiro, it is because I am being very restrictive with the technology I make use of in this fic. For all of it's worth, Code Geass lost a small amount of appeal when Knightmare Frame technology escaped the scope of realism it seemed to have in the beginning. Granted I have already gone beyond the scope of realism, but most of the technology from R2 took it too far. I will compensate in innovative ways, but don't expect battles later in the fic involving a Guren that can move so fast it's nothing but a red blur, or a Knightmare Frame with a huge sword that can redirect energy as powerful as the Baryon cannon. That's just too much.

Anyway, I hope sincerely that this does not bother anyone.

* * *

_Sheer willpower was a vast misjudgment on my part._

_Battles with Schneizel were fought regularly over the next week, each one ending either in our defeat or a mutual retreat. Even with our advantage in firepower, their numbers – which had become an obsolete thing with Knightmare Frames – gave them a small enough advantage to pull through. Neither side were faced with many casualties and we were forced to record each one as indecisive, but we finally decided on a course of action that would get our gears of change moving again._

_January 15th, 2018 a.t.b. and the Anti-Britannian Front was already putting themselves into hiding. Retreating to the Mount Hua Sanctuary east of Xi'an we pulled all the stops to make sure the subsequent battle would be a decisive one. We hadn't accounted for the reinforcements, unfortunately, but plans were being made regarding that._

_Every television network in Britannia were giving reports pertaining to what was now being dubbed the Yin and Yang War, and the response was overwhelming. Morale in the Anti-Britannian Front reached new heights from the new information, and it wasn't long before the soldiers were itching for the final battle against Schneizel's forces to unfold, fully trusting in the strategies Xingke and I had to offer._

_If only I was so eager._

_My resolve had been shaken. I'd been fighting on my father's terms, and giving it my all. But even that wasn't enough. Was Schneizel a far better commander than I was giving him credit for? Or was I overestimating my own abilities ... no, I'd made sure years ago that I would be ready before I acted. No strategist in Britannia is a match for Lelouch Lamperouge or Lelouch Vi Britannia. That much I was sure of._

_Then why was I so afraid of the battle to come...?_

o--o

"Are all the preparations ready?" Lelouch's eyes glanced from side to side rapidly, a small bit of paranoia invading his usual calm. It was a state he'd been in all day, and one that had mode those who noticed it avoid him.

"Yes, sir. The Raikou is in position, and our forces await only your order," Ogi replied, flexing his knuckles. He was more than a little put out by Lelouch's visible paranoia, but he had to admit; this more down to earth tactic screamed victory. If Lelouch wasn't so paranoid that he didn't execute it properly; that was a fear everyone had.

"How far away are the enemy?" Lelouch asked, eyes not leaving his tactical map. C.C. was seated next to him, head perched on his shoulder as she read over the map, occasionally whispering her own opinion – which was suddenly lacking any teasing intent, all seriousness as of the past week. It had surprised Lelouch at first, but the mixture of a far more serious attitude and her rather shameless behaviour – that had given nearly everyone the wrong idea at some point in time – was not completely unbearable to Lelouch.

In fact, he nearly enjoyed it. But he'd never admit to it, to himself or to anyone else.

"They've just entered the bottle-necked areas, and their defenses have tightened. Distance, 4200. They haven't caught sight of us yet, but it won't be long either. Give the order to launch? Distance 3800."

"Hold off on the launch. Make sure the Raikou is ready to fire," Lelouch answered, now visibly tensing. This was the moment he'd played out in his head so many times; and the only thing he couldn't predict – that black Lancelot – would be able to take out Raikou if he didn't act at just the right moment. Sweat was trickling down the back of his neck as he waited; eagerly, despairingly.

"Raikou ready to fire. Distance, 3600."

"Wait..." Lelouch took in a deep breath, willing his nerves to calm down. C.C. pulled back from him, preparing to do what she had to do.

"Distance, 3400! We can't wait much longer!" Ogi called, now quite worried.

"Fire! Launch Tamaki and Minami's squads for defensive purposes. We can't lose the Raikou. Xingke is already prepared for launch, but make sure the Hakumei, Lancelot and Guren are as well. Air supremacy is imperative in this battle. We lose air supremacy, and we die," Lelouch ordered grimly, his tone sending shivers down Ogi's spine. Lelouch watched on with faded breath as the first high velocity round was fired, making a direct hit on a Sutherland in the center of the Britannian main line and exploding, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. "How long to reload?"

"Another twenty seconds," Ogi answered, his voice now accompanied by furious typing. "Minami and Tamaki have launched, and their forces are deploying as we speak. The Shen-Hu has launched, and is awaiting further orders." They were now in the eye of the storm, as Lelouch had dubbed it, and failure would mean certain death for all of them. This was not a fact Lelouch had hidden from the troops, and determination to fight their best had never been higher. Even at Narita, where the stakes were much the same.

"Tamaki and Minami are to form lines surrounding the Raikou and are to attack only when the enemy gets too close. Our air units are to assault the Britannian lines when they can do so without being assaulted, but if anything comes from the air that is to take priority," Lelouch ordered, slumping back into the seat behind him. He rested his chin on his folded fingers, sighing. "This battle will not go Schneizel's way."

Down on the battlefield, Tamaki was more than ecstatic to follow these orders. The disdain he had toward following the orders of a Britannian prince were dispelled after he heard of the speech their prince had given to Schneizel, rebuking Britannia's very existence. Following that he followed Lelouch with the same devotion he had followed Zero, perhaps even more loyally now that he wasn't answering to a mask. It was with that devotion in mind that he eagerly took up his position, the fact that they were doing nothing but barricading the narrow passage lost in his enthrallment.

"We're going to defeat Britannia's White Prince!" he cried excitedly. All he got in response were sharp reprimands for his eagerness, but nobody could deny the glee that washed over them at the notion of defeating who could arguably be considered Britannia's greatest tactician. The very notion was enough to raise morale at such a point in time as this, where there was nearly no doubt in their minds that Britannia would be defeated.

But the night was young still.

o--o

"Our main line has been damaged! Seargant Jona is requesting orders!" Neil reported with a long sigh, hanging his head. "The Black Prince has outdone himself, hasn't he, Your Highness?"

"Indeed he has," Schneizel scowled, not in the least proud of the man he was hesitant to call his half-brother. "Order them to pause and make way for the Galehaut. It will lead the charge. This battle is our's if that Raikou is destroyed, and the Galehaut can do it."

The Britannian forces formed into a long wall, in front of it standing the Galehaut. The massive array charged forward in unison, heedless of the casualties they suffered under the impressive firepower of the Raikou. Their efforts were nearly rewarded as the Galehaut came within striking distance, but their hopes were dashed when a massive stream of red landed just half a foot away from it, tearing up the ground in front of it.

"It's that red Frame!" Darin cried, his voice breaking and revealing every bit of the worry that lay beneath his now broken calm exterior. Being put in the position they were in – staring down firepower that was decimating their main line with unheard of efficiency, it was not surprising that many of the Avalon's personnel were losing their cool.

"The ace of the Black Knights..." Schneizel groaned, recalling it's recent 'upgrade'. Needless to say, it – among other things in the firepower the Anti-Britannian Front possessed, was not something he wanted standing in his way. "Lloyd, did you assess it's abilities?" he turned toward his scientist, still wearing that slightly disconcerting grin. He was an odd person, to be sure. But Schneizel was well known for keeping such people around.

"Of course," the scientist replied cheerily, eyes closing as he nodded eagerly. "Compared to the Galehaut, in terms of performance alone it is 43 more efficient. It's armaments – as you can tell – are far more advanced. Completely outclassed."

"And you're happy about this?" Schneizel asked bemusedly, frowning.

"Of course not," Cecile put in, smiling. "But one can't help but admire such work, right?"

"Right – I mean, no!" Lloyd let out an exasperated sigh as he glared non-threateningly at Cecile, who continued to put on a look of pure innocence. "But that red Frame is no match for the defenses of the Gawain," he explained, raising his eyebrows in a knowing fashion.

"But the Hadron technology is..." Schneizel cut himself off, lowering his head in mock thought. It was quite quickly that he came to the conclusion that this was not something he could leave open for debate. And unfortunately, they needed the Gawain even as it was, with or without control of it's firepower. And so, he spoke with a sigh, not lifting his head, "Do we have a suitable pilot for it?"

"Fortunately, Your Highness, it's been designed with such simplistic technology that piloting skill is of little consequence when using it, and it's devastating strength and defenses need little raw skill. While I am adverse to the idea, I can allow one of my creations being used so carelessly."

Schneizel was still adverse to the idea. But as he looked toward the battlefield where his determination to removing the Anti-Britannian Front had already dealt devastating damage to his main line, leaving him with just the torn remnants of Seargant Jona's division and the lines laying behind it as viable options, it wasn't difficult to realize that the decision had been made for him.

"Well, Your Highness?" Lloyd wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke, enticingly.

"Set it up for launch. We'll need control over the air." He turned toward Darin, who was still watching everything with a long-drawn breath, his breaths coming few and far between and in short gasps. "Where are our reinforcements?"

"They are proceeding along the main road toward our rear. They should be in sight shortly," Darin replied without batting an eyelash, his eyes much too focused on his own task.

"When they arrive, we had better have control over the air," Schneizel sighed, cradling his head in his hand, supported by his elbow against the armrest of his throne-like seat. "Numbers are an obsolete thing, after all. But the extra firepower isn't unwelcome."

Schneizel's desire to overcome Lelouch's immediate plots, unfortunately, were leaving him oblivious to the inner machinations of his half-brother's mind.

o--o

"Distance, 2200! They're getting too close!" Ogi reported direly. Lelouch only smiled at the very notion, not in the least bit worried. In fact, since the first move had been a resounding success, the confidence and arrogance that were known to be prominent factors in both Lelouch and his discarded alter ego Zero had returned, perhaps ten fold. Ogi was more than a little worried about the situation, and he wasn't afraid to admit it, although he did feel a little foolish behaving in such a manner when their commander was so calm and collected.

"The Raikou is to begin using it's other artillery to keep the enemy at bay. How does this effect it's reload time?"

There was a moments' pause, "... Delays it by about five seconds," Ogi replied, clearly not at all pleased with that.

"That's fine. Make sure the defense holds for another few minutes, and then we'll have won," Lelouch responded with a smug grin. Ogi would have questioned him on the matter, but upon looking back and seeing the certainty in the young prince's eyes, he opted against it. Lelouch had been completely on top of things from the beginning of the battle, Ogi had noticed, and Lelouch seemed no less in control now, either.

Those next few minutes were beyond hectic. Schneizel had made the wise – wise from a tactical perspective, but ultimately morally wrong – decision to dispatch transport units by air in an apparent attempt to get behind the lines of the Anti-Britannian Front. His efforts were met with nothing short of terrible results, but at the same time it made the fight on the ground a much harder one. The Britannian lines continued to suffer greatly under the firepower the Raikou presented, but the lack of the Frames in the air gave them the opportunity to advance more.

It wasn't long, in fact, before the Galehaut had come nearly within striking range of the Raikou. It was only the second timely arrival of the Guren that saved the Raikou, and the brief pause it caused resulted in the Galehaut having the better part of it's Frame damaged by the shrapnel of the next shot from the Raikou, as well as the direct shot taking out it's arm. The Britannian line immediately turned to gain some distance, abandoning the cockpit that launched from the Galehaut which was swiftly captured by Tamaki.

Lelouch watched all this with great interest, watching the movements of the Galehaut closely. Movements that he vaguely recognized, no less. It dawned on him a moment later and he walked over to where Ogi was seated, speaking into the now confused man's headset, "Tamaki, take a second to secure the prisoner, and bring him aboard. I have a few suspicions regarding his identity."

Lelouch met Tamaki down in the hangar where the prisoner was passed off. Not a word was spoken as Tamaki nodded then turned on his heel, rushing out to return to his Gloucester. Lelouch didn't give the prisoner more than a passing glance; that was all it took for his suspicions to be confirmed. The pilot was unconscious and Lelouch, being needed elsewhere, passed him off to a couple other men, instructing them to put him into one of the cells in the lower area of the ship. They did so without another word, and Lelouch returned to the command center, all the while wondering why Rai had turned over to Britannia.

"What's the status?" Lelouch asked as soon as he'd taken his seat again, masking his discontent perfectly.

Ogi was silent for a moment. When he did speak, it was heavy with worry, "... We have a situation."

"A situation?" Lelouch repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Without the Galehaut, hopes of them overcoming us from the front have been lost. But they have another weapon." Ogi paused, gathering his breath before he finished, "You may want to see this."

"Put it on screen."

And Ogi did just that. When the Gawain appeared, in all it's six and a half meters of glory, Lelouch's breath hitched in his throat. Already the Hakumei had engaged it, firing a slash harken at it that was immediately cast aside from a slash harken launched from one of the massive fingers the Frame possessed. When the Guren joined the Hakumei, firing two waves of Fukushahado in unison, both fell short of their target when a massive MSV shield came up in front of it, blocking both without so much as slowing down.

"That thing is..." Lelouch was truly at a loss for words.

"It gets worse," Ogi remarked bemusedly, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits as he looked back at Lelouch. "They've declared an all out blitz, and all of their forces are charging forward with seemingly no formation whatsoever. They're being decimated, but keeping up with them in their blind charge is growing difficult."

Lelouch groaned audibly; this wasn't boding well for them. "Recall Suzaku. When he returns, have him outfitted with a new battery and have him discard the Float System. He'll assist on the front lines. The rest of them are to form a defense, while Karen, Xingke and C.C. try to take down that thing. We can't allow it to overpower us now."

As soon as the orders were relayed to those on the battlefield, Xingke smirked. He knew just by looking what kind of Frame they were going up against and, having assessed Lelouch's piloting skills in the past, was thinking much the same thing he was sure the younger of the two commanders was.

This Frame would be perfect for Lelouch's use.

Determined not to let such an opportunity go to waste, Xingke was the first to jump to action. He closed the distance until there was only a narrow fourty feet between them, and then the Baryon cannon was fired in a long stream at the Gawain that was immediately rendered useless by the large wall of transparent green that appeared in front of it. Xingke smirked as he fired one of his slash harkens, successfully embedding it in the torso of the large Frame. Sending large currents of electricity through the wire of the slash harken added a little extra to the hit, and the Gawain's response was exactly as he predicted as it stopped moving entirely.

But it was moving again far faster than he had anticipated. A large shot was fired from the cannon on it's right shoulder, and Xingke forced himself into an immediate descent that forced his slash harken from the bulky Frame and sent the Hadron blast going narrowly over his head. He quirked an eyebrow when it's stream was suddenly cut short, but took in the information with a smirk nonetheless as he returned to the attack.

"C.C.! Karen! Attack from both sides!" as they moved to obey somewhat grudgingly, Xingke navigated himself around to it's backside. As the pilot of the Gawain prioritized taking care of the Guren and Hakumei, it was completely unprepared for the two slash harkens catching it around the torso, effectively holding it in place. Xingke's victorious smirk faded fast as the Gawain continued to move, it's sheer mass rendering his capture method ineffective. "Damn!" he cursed quietly, extracting himself with great difficulty from the Frame.

Xingke turned himself over to a strict stance of defending and not draining his power as he thought over how exactly to go about removing the large Frame. "Blindly attacking won't work. We'll just drain out power and then it will win..." he mused quietly. His thoughts were put on hold as a short burst from the Hadron cannons sent him back a short distance from the pressure alone, despite having missed him by a rather wide margin on both sides. "If only we could drain it's energy first, then..."

He grinned widely as it hit him; the one scenario that may work. Executing it would be another matter, but having a plan to defeat such a beast was an accomplishment of it's own. He drew it's attention to him with another offensive while ordering, "Karen, find a good point and launch a Gefjun Net at it!" she seemed to get the idea rather quickly, escaping higher into the air with C.C. on her tail, waiting until the Gawain seemed completely oblivious to her.

Xingke continued his attack-and-defense strategy with questionable success, narrowly dodging the erratic but successive blasts from the Hadron cannons. It seemed almost like a rampaging giant to watch, almost carelessly firing at him with quick but uncontrolable shots. That made them nearly impossible to predict, but the basics to dodging them were quite easy to grasp, luckily.

The offense part of the strategy was another matter. While dodging the blasts grew to be more a sudden reflex rather than a carefully calculated action, the lack of a pause between the next attack left no opening for the Shen-Hu's more delayed and powerful attacks. It had quickly become a matter of constant defense with the occasional launching of a slash harken, but what little offense he was able to contribute was not enough to make a dent in the stellar defenses of the Gawain.

And so, he was overjoyed to see the Gefjun Net land around the Gawain, erupting into blasts of red electricity that left the Gawain completely and entirely immobilized. All three jumped at the opening; Xingke once again securely wrapping his slash harkens around it from the back, leaving it slack and non-moving as he tried to haul it back toward the Hogosha, the other two below it making sure it wasn't able to break free and to ensure it wasn't dropped. The possibility was certainly there.

But as they safely reached the Hogosha where it was swiftly loaded and it's pilot extracted, their nerves were finally put to rest. And Lelouch's grin was irrepairably transfixed to his face.

o--o

"We've lost the signal to the Gawain!" Darin reported frantically, arms waving exasperatedly over his head in a silent gesture essentially sending the same message that was running through the heads of just about everyone else. The same message that had made the nervous outbreak of sweat more an ever-flowing river of sweat rather than an occasional drop or two.

They were done. Flipped over twice and grilled to perfection. Courtesy of a certain half-brother of their prince, who just so happened to be a brilliant cook in his own right. And the worst part was, Schneizel knew from the beginning that Lelouch would be pulling all the stops to capture the Gawain. It was indeed a far too enticing treat for someone with limited piloting skill.

And now Lelouch's artillery was that much more powerful. Schneizel was out a powerful – and somewhat necessary – Frame, and his forces were now once again hounded by the damned harpies that dared release the extent of their mighty weaponry upon them from the air.

Oh yeah, they were done perfectly. And Schneizel was sure Lelouch was loving every minute of watching Britannia squirm beneath his lethal tactics.

But even so, it was too early to claim total defeat. His soldiers would never forgive him if so many lives were spent just to turn around and return home. No, they would lose all respect for their prince, and that is a harder blow to him than any blow Lelouch could deal. It was with that thought in mind that he gave consideration to what he was about to say, "Continue the assault. Their batteries will run out if we keep up the assault, and that will be our chance." He turned toward Darin, asking, "How far off are the reinforcements?"

"They will be entering the mountains within the next ten minutes, Your Highness," he replied dutifully, eyes not drifting away from the current object of their attention – the slight static he was receiving on his radar pointing to the entrance into the mountain region they were currently stuck in. It had shown up seemingly out of nowhere just a short while ago, and he'd found the disturbance too suspicious to ignore.

Down on the battlefield, words were shot back and for from superior to underling, superior to fellow superior, or even amongst the common man. No matter who it was, they all were saying more or less the same thing; words of harsh reprimand to their superior for the suicidal position they'd been put in. Their only hope – the Gawain – had been seized, and still they fought on?

Needless to say, they were not impressed with their prince's judgment. But like any red blooded Britannian, orders were not questioned. Reprimands about the idiocy of it or expressions of disdain were commonplace, naturally, and many disputed the wisdom of their actions. Even so, none could deny the yearning to avenge those that had already fallen on this bleak night.

"Another?! To the right!" assuming command of the blitzing Britannians was the Second Lieutenant of the 47th Britannian Commonwealth Platoon of the First Prince's Personal Division, Stewart Trueman. He had the self-assumed duty of directing the blitzing troops, now devoid of any sense of order whatsoever – as so many battles since the invention of the Knightmare Frame had become. The first prince usually made sure things were in some measure of order, but such a gallant effort had clearly been discarded in favor of the true Britannian way: the strong will survive.

Much to Stewart's bemusement, those who survived still – little more than half of their original numbers – were hardly worthy of being considered strong. They were the bottom of the barrel men that Schneizel could afford to risk on this bloody night, and Stewart was leading such a motley crew of men to either a gloriously underdog victory, or to certain death.

Though he was adverse to admitting it, Stewart was inclined to believe the latter was the more likely scenario.

Stewart managed to narrowly dodge the Raikou's destructive power but, as he had assumed, one of those behind him had been hit. The Sutherland in question exploded almost immediately, sending the shrapnel flying in all directions, piercing several other Frames; five were destroyed on impact, while another twelve managed to escape with minor damages. Those ones were the ones that would be sitting ducks if they ever reached the enemy's main line, Stewart knew.

Which wasn't all that far off. They were gaining a lot of distance with their blind charging, and even the damned Frames above them could only do so much with just four of them. But even that small success didn't make Stewart feel better; breaking through would mean the enemy would finally take some reasonable damage, but they'd lost so much by now that their remnants wouldn't be able to make a victory possible. They'd already lost, unless the reinforcements they were expecting arrived soon.

Stewart couldn't even speculate on the probability of that.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait much longer for what many hoped would be their second wind. As soon as Darin said, "They're here," and the messaged was relayed through Neil to the troops, morale increased considerably in a matter of seconds. Schneizel scratched at the bridge of his nose as he watched on, waiting for the turn of the tide. The change that would end the battle simply due to the draining batteries Lelouch's forces were now surely suffering from.

And so, he was completely taken by surprise when, Darin suddenly said, "Our reinforcements have been ambushed." It came out of his mouth as though it were the simplest thing in the world, but it had Schneizel's head doing backflips. Reinforcements? Where had Lelouch had the time to plan for such a compete victory? In hindsight he figured he should have checked for a possible ambush in that area, due to the fact that it was a very suitable place for one, but it had completely skipped his mind in his dedication to overcoming what Lelouch had put forth.

Never had he felt so foolish when ignoring a rule of war.

General Walter Borman of the 1st Brigade of the First Prince's Personal Division was taken equally by surprise when his entire brigade was covered in a thick smokescreen, the only thing having been seen beforehand was what someone had – supposedly mistakenly – identified as Todo Kyoshiro's personal Gekka Knightmare Frame, and then it all went black. By the time the general could see again it was nearly too late to salvage the situation; the Shisei-ken was upon them from both sides both with two companies of Sutherland and Burai, striking or shooting at any and everything they came across.

Outnumbered as they were, the stellar battlefield leadership Todo displayed coupled with the morale raising figure he presented were more than enough to turn the tide, and the last hope for Schneizel's forces were beyond salvation within what seemed like less than five minutes. It hadn't in fact been much longer than that, Walter figured, but that didn't matter too much.

Walter himself put up a decent fight, proving to be more than a match for one of the Shisei-ken, but when the Gekka backed off, only to be replaced with the black Gekka with flowing black hair behind it that marked it as Todo Kyoshiro's, he knew he was seeing his last day. Even if he survived, demotion was the least of things he expected to receive for this failure. But his worries were put to rest as Todo's Seidotou pierced his cockpit, and he died before the blade had been pulled out again.

Adding to Schneizel's worries was the sudden counterattack of their main forces, as well as the sudden deployment of the Gun-Ru Corps that suddenly left them sorely outnumbered and on the run. Schneizel didn't even need to give the order; whoever felt they could just mounted the command of the remnants and led them into an organized retreat. Schneizel stood up and immediately left the room, Kanon hot on his heel as he went through the narrow corridors of the Avalon to his personal quarters. As soon as Kanon had stepped into the room, he abruptly slammed it shut, fuming in a way he never would in the presence of his subordinates.

"You're not pleased with the man your half-brother has become," Kanon remarked with a smirk. The glare Schneizel gave him could have turned most anyone to stone with fear.

"He's a fine commander... but a terrible brother," Schneizel replied pointedly, venom dripping from his words. "I understand his reasoning for rebellion, but he's spreading war. Endless fighting won't solve a thing."

"He's changing the world, whether the methods are right or not. Opposing him now is opposing the will of the people. You want to prove he's wrong, you have to do it in a way that keeps the people's favor," Kanon replied immediately, his smile broad as he spoke. Schneizel's expression expressed complete agreement, but that didn't seem to placate him at all.

It would be a long time before Schneizel overcame the humiliation that now fueled his anger completely and entirely.

o--o

"Britannian forces have managed to group together and break through Todo's company and are retreating to Xi'an. Our forces have merged under Xingke's command and are awaiting your orders." Lelouch smirked when Ogi had finished reporting the latest development to him, and it was only with great effort that he managed to suppress his gleeful laughter.

Ogi and Sugiyama were the only ones who were still in the command center with Lelouch, both working tirelessly despite the undisputed conculsion to the battle. It had been their first victory over Schneizel, but it was a decisive victory that was sure to send enemy morale plummeting to the ground. Schneizel's presence in the Chinese Federation would be nonexistent and retreating would be the only option the Prime Minister would be left with.

It was short. It was sweet. And it was delightful.

Lelouch turned toward Ogi, fighting to suppress his grin as he spoke, "Order them to retreat. Our victory is already complete. We will only invite defeat if we press the attack further." Ogi nodded in agreement and began relaying the orders to Xingke.

A moment later, Ogi turned back to Lelouch, "Xingke wishes to speak with you personally regarding where things will go from here," he studied Lelouch's expression with almost obsessive intensity as he pondered the matter before finally giving a thumbs up. "He'll meet you in his quarters when you return," Ogi responded into the headset, removing it as soon as he got an affirmative. "What are your orders for the ship?"

Lelouch stood up, making for the doorway, "We'll stay here until after my meeting with Xingke. Then we'll discuss where we head from here."

When Xingke arrived in his quarters nearly twenty minutes later, eyes heavy from sleep, Lelouch was seated in the chair at his desk, turned around so he faced the doorway. Another seat was prepared across from him. Lelouch directed Xingke to it with a gesture of his hand, and his calm face dissolved behind a sudden focus the moment Xingke took the seat.

"You know why we needed to meet," Xingke started, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back.

Lelouch nodded, "Until Schneizel is gone and we have secured some form of agreement between us, our invasion of Area 11 cannot begin."

"And what do you want in exchange for our continued cooperation?" Xingke asked, leaning back and smirking slightly. He'd let Lelouch make his demands, then milk what he could in exchange. He'd keep control the entire time.

"I have no desire for anything, but for the sake of my men it is imperative that our presence in Area 11 when it has fallen is known. We will be able to control the Sakuradite resources in Area 11 when this is over, as well." Xingke nodded along the entire way, already working out his own requests.

"Then I will request a mutual alliance and pact of mutual benefit between the two of us once the Japanese have their freedom," Xingke responded, not missing a beat. "In terms of Sakuradite, we will be promised twenty percent of it without consequence yearly. Is that reasonable?"

"Indeed it is," Lelouch smiled slightly. Before he could continue, their negotiations were put on hold when the door opened. C.C. walked in nonchalantly, giving Lelouch a small smile before pulling down the sheets on her bed and sliding in, pulling them over her and curling up into a fetal position.

"Is she...?" it was no secret that C.C. shared a room with Lelouch and rumors had already been dispelled, but seeing this raised questions almost immediately.

"She's a secret I keep tucked beneath Zero's mask," Lelouch responded, as if it did not matter at all. In his eyes, it really didn't. In Xingke's case, their mutual benefit was all he needed to keep his assistance. "I'll tell everyone someday. But it's not a weight people need just yet."

Xingke nodded in understanding despite his misgivings. "Then regarding our current position --" Lelouch's phone chose that moment to ring, and Lelouch gave an apologetic look to Xingke as he moved to answer it.

"Hello?" he asked, skeptically. The number was not familiar to him at all.

"Hello, Lelouch."

The childish tone struck a chord in Lelouch immediately. Something inside him told him he wasn't wrong in his deduction, and he took the phone away from his ear, standing and gently nudging C.C. into awareness, "Take over negotiations. I have a..." he looked at the phone, carefully choosing his next words. "Situation."

That was enough to relay the urgency of the matter to C.C. and she got up immediately, taking his seat as he stepped out of the room. He didn't utter a word until he was far out of the reach of wandering ears, when he said, "V.V."

* * *

That's where I'll end it. I had an alternate ending planned, but this is more fitting and on a second thought the other stuff I had planned is better off going into the next chapter anyway. Sorry if the end of the chapter seemed rushed – it was a little – but I had little to offer in the way of filler. Hopefully you guys won't mind too much...

Also, like I promised, what does everyone think will happen next? It's pretty open-ended, but you can make at least reasonable guesses with the subtle advances into this next issue I've made.

And question two: Schneizel has mentioned once or twice about his secret 'Operation Muhon'. What do you guys think this is? There's a huge hint in the name that's pretty easy to get, too.

That's all!


	16. A Saint's Path to Hell

Sorry for the longer than intended wait.

Not a whole else lot I need to say. Basic Disclaimers, thank you to my reviewers, and we're off!

Oh, and the chapter name was inspired by Lelouch's monologue at the end of episode 19 of R2.

* * *

Lelouch sat in his bed, legs pulled up toward his chest. And he just stared. Stared blankly at the wall in front of him, eyes drained of all color. His lip would twitch from time to time and he would blink even less regularly, but beyond those simple actions he didn't dare move. He feared that were he to move he would shatter into a million pieces.

Like his heart nearly had when V.V. hung up.

That had been six hours ago at least, Lelouch figured. He didn't really care. C.C. had done well in the negotiations and he had already read what Xingke had left for him; Lelouch would have Area 11, and it's stores of Sakuradite would be cut off from Britannia. This would certainly hit the superpower hard, were it to come together. The twenty percent promised to the Chinese Federation and their subsequent union was of no consequence to Lelouch, and the other nations would get the courage to join his war if Area 11 fell.

But what was nearly within the palm of his hand suddenly felt so far away. Area 11 was near, and he had everything set for it's liberation. But whenever things truly looked up for Lelouch Lamperouge, there was always someone waiting to kick him down again. It was a deadly cycle he'd never escaped, and he couldn't help but wonder if he ever would.

"Everyone..." Lelouch whispered quietly, surprised he didn't feel the familiar clenching of his heart when he brought that thought to mind. It was a thought that threatened to tear him apart from the inside out. And hard as he tried, that wasn't a feeling he could tuck away in the now overflowing closet of emotions that was Zero's mask. Knowing that, he had left everything to Xingke and demanded he be left alone, his only lingering company being C.C. and her quiet humming as she casually read some pop idol magazine of some sort.

Lelouch really didn't want to ask _why_ she felt celebrity life and the like was an interesting topic while they were on a ship that had just pulled in from cutting a bloody swath through the Chinese Federation.

"Lelouch, you're staring," Lelouch promptly noticed that his eyes had broken their trance-like state to look at C.C. and he smirked almost involuntarily. He leaned forward and gave her covered body a once over and C.C. laughed – not that annoying and slightly seductive chuckle; a full out _laugh._ She watched the raven haired teen from the corner of her eye for a moment longer before returning to a particularly interesting article on skin care.

More interesting than watching Lelouch sulk and brood, anyway.

"You didn't sound like you were complaining," C.C.'s change in attitude toward her partner had done much more than make people assume things – some of which Lelouch was glad he couldn't remember – and make them a little more friendly toward each other. His shyness toward women faded quite quickly. When that dawned on the witch she immediately began taking to a far more subtle means of teasing; namely, casual seduction on a regular basis. Lelouch had grown to treat this no differently than he had their constant bickering, and often found himself reciprocating her playful banter.

Like now. C.C. rolled her eyes to his response, and _there_ was that chuckle, the chuckle that was the undeniable icing to the cake of it all, "I wasn't." And she winked for emphasis, relishing in the furious blush she got out of Lelouch. The thought crossed her mind that the others would be more than surprised to see Lelouch's uncharacteristic behaviour in her company, and the amusement that would come from seeing such an exchange was growing more and more enticing.

That was why she was just _ecstatic_ to hear a knock on the door at that particular moment. Giving Lelouch a look that was more than effective at keeping his eyes on her, she said, "Come in." Before Lelouch could recover Suzaku walked in, more than a little surprised to see the look in Lelouch's eyes as he stared at C.C. as if Suzaku weren't there. But Suzaku was there, and Lelouch coughed nervously as he looked at Suzaku.

"Yes?"

"Xingke told me that C.C. had said you'd want to talk to me," Suzaku replied, eyeing Lelouch hesitantly. C.C. chuckled before returning to her magazine, leaving Lelouch alone in a matter he was still trying to grasp. When it dawned on him, he sighed heavily. He had indeed been thinking along the same lines, but actually doing it would be difficult. Suzaku tapped his foot rather impatiently; Lelouch figured he would have much rather being with Rakshata at the moment.

Lelouch knew Suzaku would be pleased with the request Lelouch had put in to begin modifications on the Lancelot. But that was hardly the issue at hand.

"Sit," he gestured toward his chair, making no move to leave his bed. Suzaku did so, raising an eyebrow. "Now, I..." he paused. Did he really want to do this? It was something he could get away with lying about, he figured. Nobody needed to know. But at the same time, he needed to escape the lies he'd been making. He frowned, "You're not going to like what I have to say."

"I thought so."

"Do you remember what I said to you that day, on the roof at Ashford?" Lelouch asked, smiling gently at the memory.

Suzaku joined him in reminiscence, "I remember. You said something about a power people wouldn't believe existed, that the Emperor has. And that you knew about it." Realization dawned on Suzaku, and he looked at Lelouch pointedly, "Do you...?"

Lelouch's hand swept over his eye and when he moved it, Geass was flaring in it's depths. Suzaku gasped loudly as Lelouch said, "Geass. A mighty power few would believe existed. It manifests itself in many forms – I know of two others – but mine is just as unique as any."

"Your's..." Suzaku stared dumbfounded, terrified by the sigil in Lelouch's eye. He wanted to say Lelouch was mad, that such a thing was something out of a fairytale. But that demonic eye was all the proof he needed.

"The Power of Absolute Obedience," Lelouch said, trace amounts of pride in his voice. "The ability to give any order I desire, no matter how displeasing to the recipient."

Suzaku felt a pit growing in the depths of his stomach, "You didn't..."

"I have never used it on an ally. If I am to rule this world, I need honest subordinates, not brainwashed goons. Jeremiah is an exception, but the case was rather peculiar for him," Lelouch explained, understanding Suzaku's worries completely.

"Shinjuku," it was no more than a breath, but Suzaku understood immediately. "That's how you got his Sutherland."

"Correct. This power is a blessing. It has given me the power to start all of this. I have used it sparingly so far, but the time will come when my Geass will be vital. In that regard, it is a more potent weapon than any technology we get our hands on.

"But at the same time, its a curse. It's a lonely thing. I've lost many of my friends through Geass, and it will only continue to get worse. But I have made a vow to C.C., that I would overcome that loneliness. That I would master Geass and keep that which I hold dear to me."

"C.C.?"

"I gave him this power," C.C. interjected. "And he will fulfill my desire in the end."

Suzaku looked to Lelouch for elaboration, but he just shrugged. "I'm telling you this, Suzaku, because I can no longer keep it a secret. There are others who have Geass, and other immortals – like C.C. - who are under my father's control."

"And what does that matter?" Suzaku asked.

"The one who gave my father Geass, V.V., is here in the Chinese Federation, I believe. In a place called the Geass Directorate. We have to find him, and eliminate him."

"Do you wish to destroy this... Geass Directorate?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to make it a dominion of the Order of the Black Knights. I want to harness Geass and use it's power. But I also want to protect Geass' existance. It is not something that should be widely known," Lelouch explained. His eyes dropped slightly and he sighed, knowing Suzaku could see right through him at that moment.

"There's more to it," and Lelouch knew he couldn't hide it from Suzaku any longer.

"V.V., he..." Lelouch took a breath, calming his nerves. "He has them. Our friends. Milly, Shirley, Rivalz, Nina... all of them."

Suzaku gaped. And then he made a curious, grunt-like noise. Then he gaped again. And _then_ his eyes went wide in understanding astonishment. "...You."

"What?"

"You hate this world so much, you got involved in it like this! You didn't think about anyone but yourself! I've looked past your means – I admit that there is some necessity to them. But now our friends are _prisoners_ of some immortal who's out to get you! And do you even care?!" Suzaku glared daggers at Lelouch, not in the least surprised about his sudden urge to tear Lelouch apart to satisfy his bitter mood.

"Of course I care!" Lelouch snapped, glaring back. "They're our friends, Suzaku. But if I put them first, the people who believe in me to give them what I've promised – a better world – will suffer. The world is suffering, and it's more selfish of me to put my friends before all of them." Lelouch's eyes softened the moment Suzaku's did, both mentally whispering apologies to one another. "I didn't think my father would target our friends to get to me. But now that he has, we have to save them."

"We shouldn't go alone, Lelouch. You're finally being honest with those who believe in you. The others need to be told about this."

"Absolutely not. You're understanding, Suzaku, but I can't expect them to believe me if I tell them I have never used such a power to sway them. Loyalty will be shaken, and everything will fall apart. We can't afford to let that happen."

o--o

"Impressive work as always, Rakshata. How long will we be expecting for the upgrades to be made?" Lelouch eyed the reports he had just received with great interest, every now and then glancing over to the side of his laptop screen where Rakshata's face was, pipe held tightly between her lips.

"The changes are little more than upgrades on the Lancelot's current technology and a new paint job. Give us a week to put the finishing touches on the new weapons, and a few days with the Frame itself, I'd say," she tapped a finger to her cheek as she thought, making sure there was nothing she had overlooked. "I have to admit, the Lancelot is a fine Knightmare Frame. Making upgrades for it is a difficult thing to do."

"I agree," Lelouch nodded, smiling. "And what of the Han-Shu and... _that_? That project was passed on to you as well, right?"

"Correct!" she replied cheerfully, grinning. "The first ten have already been completed, and they will be ready for full mass production by the end of the month. We've been putting them through test runs and have found several bugs that have eluded us so far, but it's coming together. And _that_ has already been completed."

"Good work. Send your next report to Xingke; if it's anything important have him forward it to me. I have things I need to do for now, if you don't mind." Rakshata nodded, and then Lelouch hastily closed his laptop and sat back in his seat. "C.C., do you have any idea where it is?"

"It changes location everytime a new head it is declared," she replied, sauntering over to him and resting her chin atop his head, gazing down at his raven hair. "As for where it is now, I couldn't fathom."

Lelouch sighed; he certainly wasn't pleased with that. "We'll have to find it soon. I won't invade Area 11 with my friends in captivity."

Smiling, C.C. ran her hands down his arms soothingly as she lowered her head toward his ear, whispering huskily, "You're still too emotional, boy."

Lelouch gulped, closing his eyes, "I'm aloud to be emotional in personal matters, I think."

"Except Suzaku is pressuring you to make this a matter that involves Ogi and the others, is he not? Would it still be a personal matter then?"

Lelouch, much to his dismay, hadn't really thought about that. He wracked his brain for a moment, pondering, before he decided on his answer. He flipped open his laptop again, and within a few moments a communication channel with the command center had been opened, and Xingke's face appeared. "Send Suzaku in, Xingke." The older man nodded, and the laptop was closed again.

"You're playing a dangerous game, keeping Suzaku so close, Lelouch," C.C. moved her hands from their resting positions near his wrists and clasped them together around his neck, her breath still assaulting the back of his neck and ear.

Lelouch couldn't help but laugh at her words, "You're the one with your arms around my neck, witch."

"I'm playing a game I can win, though," and she nipped at his ear to emphasize her point, laughing as he gasped sharply. "I'm not one of the chess games you're so good at, Lelouch."

"Sometimes I wish you were," Lelouch admitted with a chuckle. "They're far easier to understand and control."

Suzaku entered into yet another rather compromising situation, this time actually feeling his cheeks heat up, more or less due to the fact that the first thing he'd seen was C.C. taking another nip at her partner's ear, taking far too much amusement in his reactions. She looked up rather innocently as she saw Suzaku, and drew away from Lelouch, "I'll leave you two to your business," and she returned to her bed, falling onto it and curling up.

"Lelouch..."

"Pay it no heed," Lelouch waved a hand dismissively, willing away his blush with every bit of his mental capacity. "I called you here to work out what we're going to do with the Black Knights."

Suzaku raised an eyebrow, "Meaning?" Despite the change of topic, he couldn't help his mind drifting back to what he saw. He now knew that C.C. was more than another subordinate, but for all intents and purposes that's the role she played. And seeing Lelouch having such a relationship with a subordinate was more than a little strange to Suzaku, he had to admit.

"You're adverse to acting while keeping the Order in the dark, but we can't tell them the truth," Lelouch explained.

"And why can we not, Lelouch? Surely your power has flaws that you can use to convince them."

"The only flaw I can use is that they'd have a lapse of memory during the time they were under the influence of Geass. Geass leaves them completely unaware of what happens while it's active," Lelouch pondered, and he couldn't help but wonder if that would actually be sufficient to convince them. It probably would, after all they'd already been through. If they could trust him as a prince, surely trusting him with such a power with proof of not having used it on them would keep them on his side...

"So let's do that, then," Suzaku concluded, smiling. Lelouch knew he wouldn't get out of it then.

o--o

Schneizel smirked as he looked at Lloyd. Despite all they had lost to Lelouch, they were already in the works of picking themselves up again. Lloyd's eyes reflecting gleeful understanding that told Schneizel he had the same thing in mind that his prince had. His smirk turned into a grin that matched Lloyd's, their eyes conveying all the words they needed to say. There was only one thing that needed saying, they told each other with their eyes, and the both said it together, "Operation Muhon will work on a new stage."

Cecile smiled as they said that, "Where?"

Schneizel's eyes didn't leave Lloyd's, "I've already got it all ready. Kanon, make sure we've gathered our remnants. The Avalon is retreating from the Chinese Federation. My brother can have this stage; we'll face him once and for all on our new stage."

o--o

The Hogosha's meeting room was styled in a way not unlike a conference chamber. Chairs occupied the near entirety of the bland room, and at the far side was a stage with a podium, and behind it were two chairs on either side. It was seldom used, as the commanders of the Anti-Britannian Front rarely needed to meet with their soldiers in such a manner, but it was still a helpful room for when it's use was necessary.

Like today. The room was buzzing with excitement as soldiers, mechanics and anyone else filed into the room from any of it's three doorways – along the south, east and west walls respectively, all the while keeping their eyes intently fixed on their leader standing at the podium, C.C. seated behind him on one side and Suzaku seated behind him on the other. With the exception of those two, everyone – even Xingke – was directed to the seats that rested before the podium. Those without seats were left to stand in the massive room that could nearly bring most rooms in the Britannia Palace to shame.

The room was large enough to seat nearly everyone, but that was one of it's only selling points. It was painted a white with a small blue tint, and it had embroidery of a darker blue lining the center of the walls in a wavy pattern, going over and under a golden line. The podium was the only other contrast to the bland room, sporting a dark red coating and the Order of the Black Knights symbol on the side that faced the crowd.

"We have come far," Lelouch started suddenly, his voice sullen and lacking it's usual authorativity. "We have fought many battles and overcome many trials, and finally the time to restore Japan to it's former glory is upon us!" Many people cheered, and Suzaku had to wave a silencing hand so Lelouch could continue, "But before we declare war and attack Area 11, a new threat has appeared here in the Chinese Federation," there were low murmurs as people questioned each other about what meant.

In much the same tone, which had earned him several bewildered looks since his speech began, Lelouch continued, "Strange powers few people know exist have become a part of this war, and if we are to overcome Britannia we must harness it's strength! The power to manipulate your enemy is a mystifying power indeed, and Charles Di Britannia has control of such a power. I do not know what his is capable of, but here in the Chinese Federation is a hidden sanctuary, where people with such powers reside. This place must become our own if we are to even the odds, because as it stands this sanctuary is under the control of Charles Di Britannia."

"What are you getting at, Lelouch?" Xingke asked from his seat in the center of the front row, raising an eyebrow.

"You can't honestly expect us to believe such nonsense," Nagisa remarked, seated right behind Xingke.

"And why should you not?" Lelouch smirked when Nagisa gaped. "You need look no further than me for proof, as I too have this power."

Xingke smiled slightly, "This is why C.C. is here, right?"

"For all intents, she's a capable pilot and a good strategist and diplomat. Truly not a burden, to be sure." Lelouch looked back at C.C., who responded with by staring straight into his eyes with a mischievous glint, winking. Lelouch gulped as he turned back to the crowd, "But yes, she supplied me with this power."

Xingke continued, "And what is this power, exactly?"

Lelouch and Suzaku had decided that this part would sound better coming from someone other than Lelouch, and so Suzaku stood up and walked forward, taking his place at the podium as Lelouch stepped to the side. Xingke and many others eyed him strangely, but Suzaku ignored it, "The power of Geass. A strange power that manifests itself in many different ways, depending on..."

Noticing Suzaku's failure to remember everything he had said, Lelouch leaned in, "Depending on the nature of the contract you make."

Xingke was no less confused, "Contract?"

Lelouch was a little skeptical about revealing so much, but he continued regardless, "I made a contract with C.C. to acquire this power, and my desire was to use it to carry out this rebellion. And so, the power I acquired befits the role I needed it to play nicely."

"And... this power is?"

"The Power of Absolute Obedience," Suzaku answered. Xingke gaped, understanding immediately.

"It seems you understand, Xingke," Lelouch remarked, with no small amount of amusement in his voice. "Yes, it is the power to give an order that someone is forced to carry out."

Todo stood up, fearing the worst, "You..."

"Have only used this power on the enemy. You need not worry, Todo."

Todo seemed satisfied in believing Lelouch's word, and sat down again. In tandem with his seating Nagisa stood, pointing a finger at him and waving it, "How can we trust that you're telling the truth? You certainly haven't had problems lying to us in the past."

Lelouch could hardly dispute that, unfortunately. Offering a small smile, he said, "If I used it on you, you'd know because when it's used, what you do under it's influence is forgotten afterwards. Just leaves a huge hole in your memory."

Karen piped up, "Then... me? At Ashford that day... you..."

"Used it on you to confirm you were the Glasgow pilot I saw in Shinjuku, yes."

"And Jeremiah's fall from grace..." Ogi continued.

"... Is my fault, yes."

Xingke seemed satisfied, "You haven't used it to manipulate us at any point in time?" Lelouch shook his head, "Then there is no problem in overlooking you having used it on Karen."

Lelouch nodded thankfully, "Then we will remain on standby while I continue to investigate into the location of the Geass Directorate." He sighed deeply, pleased to have gotten through that without incident. "If you have further questions, now is the --"

The only thing the crowd could do was flinch as his words dissolved into a deafening scream.

Suzaku stared at his friend in horror as he collapsed to the ground, throwing his hands over his eyes as he screamed, "Lelouch?!" Out of the corner of his eye he saw C.C. fall next, whimpering quietly as she held both eyes. "C.C.?!"

Lelouch reached up and gripped tightly onto the podium, using it to support him as he tried to stand. It took a few tries but he managed to reach his feet around the same time that C.C. did, both gasping and panting heavily. "I'm... okay..." he collapsed over the podium as he caught his breath, willing away the stinging sensation in his eyes.

As soon as Lelouch had regained his composure, Suzaku gasped, "Lelouch... why..."

Lelouch looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. Suzaku pointed fearfully at him, "Your... Geass..."

"My Geass?"

"It's in... both eyes!"

o--o

The first thing he felt... was pain. Lots of it.

The silky sheets above and beneath him felt nothing short of heavenly as he relaxed, relishing in the comfort he'd seldom gotten of late. He wondered for a brief moment if he was in heaven, but as he opened his eyes and saw the bland ceiling above, he knew he was certainly not in heaven. The Hogosha was far from being heaven, for that matter.

No, Jeremiah Gottward was definitely still alive.

"Ah, you're awake," Jeremiah's gaze drifted to the side where a doctor was sitting, covered in a black substitute for a standard lab coat. He went back and forth from the bed Jeremiah was laying on – which he now realized was the Infirmary – and a computer screen, reading whatever came up. "Your wounds are still severe, and to be honest I'm surprised you are awake."

"That isn't important," Jeremiah responded, weakly waving a hand dismissively. "But what... happened, exactly?"

"You took a hit from the Shen-Hu's Baryon cannon. You were protected well enough, but your Frame was destroyed and you were badly wounded," the doctor responded, not bothering to look up from the computer screen.

Jeremiah was satisfied regardless, slumping back and allowing his eyes to drift to a close. He hissed in pain as the doctor lifted the bandage and pressed something – something cold and metallic, he thought – against a wound on his arm. The discomfort faded quickly, but the wound continued to pulse with pain for several minutes before he managed to reach over and place the bandage over it again. That was one wound he knew not to touch in the future.

"Oh, your phone rang a while ago. Lord Lelouch made a strict rule out of not touching any of your personal belongings, but I felt I should tell you, sir." Jeremiah nodded, and with great difficulty reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He opened it and the '1 missed call' message displayed itself, followed by a name he didn't expect to see.

Villeta.

He waved a beckoning hand to the doctor who hastened to his side, his eyes showing delicate concern. Jeremiah said, "Can you leave the room for a..." He scanned the room to make sure that he was the only patient, and then continued, "Minute? I need to make a call."

The doctor nodded and left, leaving Jeremiah as he returned the call his new enemy had so kindly given him. It rang twice before a strained voice, heavy with sleep and exhaustion said, "Jeremiah..." There was a lot of scrambling on the other end before the voice came back, this time much louder, "Jeremiah!"

"Villeta," he returned the gesture, nodding to himself.

"So you are still alive," Villeta mused thoughtfully. Any disdain Jeremiah had expected to hear wasn't there, to his surprise.

"I'm still needed," Jeremiah responded, his voice heavy with the determination he felt whenever the thought crossed his mind.

"More than your country needs you? You'd betray Britannia to overcome a failure of nearly a decade ago? You were high in the ranks of the Britannian military! You had the makings of a Knight of Rounds! But you gave it all up for a prince who would see the rest of his family dead."

"I am Orange now, Villeta. My loyalty is to Marianne's bloodline. I served Her Highness during her lifetime, and now I shall serve her children. I care not what future generations – or this generation – thinks of me for it." He could almost see the scowl cross Villeta's face as he said that, but he didn't care.

"Can you be sure those are even your words, Jeremiah?" Villeta asked, suspiciously.

"... What?"

"Lelouch has Geass. Do you know what that is?"

Jeremiah was curious, "No."

"His Geass is the power of Absolute Obedience, the power to give any order to anyone. It strips the target of their free will, and forces them to bend to his will," Villeta explained. Jeremiah couldn't deny the worry that built inside him at that moment. Villeta continued, "For all you know, your loyalty to Lelouch and Nunnally could be an order he gave you!"

Jeremiah refused to be swayed without speaking with Lelouch, however, and so he replied, "While that may be true, I will not comment until I hear the truth from Lord Lelouch."

"But, Jeremiah..."

"Oh, and Villeta?"

"What?"

"Lord Lelouch has no hatred toward anyone but his father. But they heartlessly declared him dead seven years ago." Villeta gasped on the other end, but it was almost a mocking gasp. She knew this, he realized, but she clearly hadn't thought about it in such a manner. "Lord Lelouch is in the right in this world."

Jeremiah hung up before Villeta could put in a word edgewise. The door opened a few moments later to reveal Lelouch carrying a tray of food that he settled on a bedside table before pulling over a chair and sitting next to Jeremiah's bed, looking at him softly. "Your Highness --"

"-- Just Lelouch, Jeremiah. I no longer see myself as a prince." Jeremiah nodded meekly, only then getting a good look at Lelouch's eyes and, by extension, the red sigils blazing in both of them. Dumbfounded, Jeremiah remained silent as Lelouch continued, "Are you okay?"

"Better than you seem to be, Your Hi... Lord Lelouch." Lelouch chuckled thoughtfully at that. It was a bitter laugh, one showing a knowing indifference and a complete disdain all at once.

"My eyes no longer ache. You are worse off than I," Lelouch said at last, rubbing his chin between his thumb and fore finger as he scanned Jeremiah's body. "But you're far better than you looked when you were brought in here."

"What is that... in your eyes?" Jeremiah couldn't help gaping as he got a closer, more intent look. The blazing red that had silenced him the moment he saw it, the shape of a bird in mid-flight... it was terrifying, in it's own way. "Is that... what Villeta said?"

"Villeta?" Lelouch repeated, surprised. But then, if Villeta was aware of Geass, then... "Yes, it is."

"Then you can control people... Absolute Obedience..." Jeremiah relaxed against the bed, refusing to further meet Lelouch's eyes. Not only was the sight terrifying to him, but it was a truth in what Villeta had said. Was he being controlled? Were his decisions his own? "Did you... on me?"

"I did," Lelouch responded immediately. Jeremiah clenched his eyes shut, only opening them again when Lelouch said, "In Shinjuku. To get your Sutherland."

"Is that true?" Jeremiah tried to sit upright again, but his body screamed protest. He could feel the little energy he had to draw from fading, but he willed himself to stay awake, willed himself to remain strong until he heard a conclusive answer.

Lelouch could sense his worry and frowned, "It is true, Jeremiah." He stood up, pulling the sheets over Jeremiah again. "We'll take care of everything. Rest." And with that, Jeremiah's body relaxed completely, his breath evening out as sleep reclaimed him. Lelouch smiled at the sight, "I can't lose my mother's protector."

o--o

"Sir!" The door to Lelouch's room flew open as Tamaki charged in, Diethard right behind him, "A strange golden Knightmare Frame is approaching from the sky, and it's pilot is requesting permission to dock. He claims to be a friendly," Diethard continued thoughtfully, staring at Lelouch through the mask that once again covered his face.

"I see." Lelouch stood up, heading toward the doorway. Diethard and Tamaki made way for him, and Lelouch continued, "Tell them to allow the Frame to dock, but restrain it immediately after." Diethard nodded eagerly, and the two ran off down the hall to relay the orders. Lelouch continued at a leisurely pace, taking the time to consider what this messenger – if that was what the pilot was – could want. Given that it was flying it was surely a Britannian Frame, which could only mean it came from Schneizel. Unless...

Lelouch walked into the hangar briskly, his dark figure drawing nearly all eyes to him immediately. The first thing he saw was the golden Knightmare Frame that looked distinctly like the Lancelot, although it was missing many parts. First and foremost was that it's armaments closely resembled that of the Gloucester, meaning it was an incomplete Frame. In front of it was several Black Knights restraining a boy younger than Lelouch himself, with piercing violet eyes much like Lelouch's own and short brown hair.

The most striking feature was the lack of emotion on the boy's face. He wasn't concerned in the least. In fact, he could have gotten out of that situation had he wanted to.

"Release him," Lelouch ordered as he reached the boy, pulling him to his feet gently as soon as the arms that restrained him were removed. "You're young, though I shouldn't be talking." The boy's face showed no change in emotion, and he didn't so much as blink when Lelouch chuckled. "What brings you here, then?"

The boy didn't answer. Instead, his left eye glowed with Geass' sigil as everything but Lelouch and himself froze. As Lelouch gaped, he said, "I want to speak with you in private, Lelouch Vi Britannia."

Lelouch composed himself, chuckling, "Since you have Geass, you work for V.V. I take it?" When it became evident that the boy wasn't going to answer Lelouch turned around and walked away. Behind him his footsteps were mirrored as the boy followed, and they'd crossed half the expanse of the hangar before people were moving again. Several people around him gaped, but Lelouch ignored them, saying simply, "He has Geass."

It was the boy's turn to be surprised as Lelouch said that. _'Lord V.V. said he was a liar. So why do they...?'_

As soon as they had reached Lelouch's room, the boy had him by the collar of his uniform and pressed against a wall. "You, Lelouch Vi Britannia," he said calmly, his voice just as emotionless as his expressions. "You must die."

"Must I?" Lelouch brought one hand to rest at the base of the boy's throat, applying no pressure. "And why is that?"

"You are in Lord V.V.'s way," the boy responded, finally showing just a little bit of hatred. "Therefore, you must die."

"I see." Lelouch pressed in on the boy's throat lightly, smirking beneath his mask. "Then kill me."

Lelouch was released ever so slightly as the boy gaped, taking a step back in momentary shock. "You..."

"And you don't want to kill me, do you?" Lelouch grinned when he saw the flicker of hesitation on the boy's face, "If you truly wanted to, you could have already by freezing me as you froze them. You are the perfect assassin," Lelouch was released completely as the boy stumbled back, uncertainty now clearly visible on his face. "But then, that is why V.V. has you around, right? To be an assassin that he can use as a tool?"

"I'm not a tool!" the boy snapped suddenly, his eyes blazing with rage. He composed himself when he realized he was losing his cool, saying, "I choose to do this. I _want_ to do this. It's the only way I can live."

"People like us, with Geass, live in a different time. But you're still a child. You can still have a normal life."

The boy suddenly lunged at Lelouch, picking him up by the collar again and ramming his knee into Lelouch's stomach. Lelouch gasped as the air escaped his lungs, and the boy scowled, "What do you know?! You're a child too! And look what you're doing! You --"

"-- I'm doing what I need to do," Lelouch finished shakily. "You don't need to kill so heartlessly though. You can have a normal life, you..." Lelouch sighed, loosening the mask on his face and pulling it away from him, "You don't need to be my enemy."

The boy released Lelouch immediately, backing up until he had reached the far wall before crumpling to the floor, sobbing. Lelouch stood looming over him, looking down at the boy with an unexpected pity. Between sobs, the boy said, "Why... why are you... V.V. told me you were... a liar..."

Lelouch chuckled as he lowered himself to one knee, cupping the boy's cheek in his hand, "I am a liar. I've told more lies than I can count. But I'm making amends, and I'm trying to lead an honest life. The same life you could have."

As the boy opened his eyes, he looked up at Lelouch hopefully, "I could...?"

Lelouch nodded, "What is it you want?"

That answer came without a moment's hesitation, "A family."

"Then I will give you a family. I will not show mercy if you are my enemy, but I don't think you want to be, do you?"

He shook his head, smiling weakly, "I'm Rolo."

"It's nice to meet you then," Lelouch stood and pulled Rolo to his feet, adding, "Rolo Lamperouge." The warm smile that graced Lelouch's features afterwards were anything but calming with the Geass flaring in his eyes, but Rolo couldn't care less at that point. He threw himself at Lelouch, wrapping the older boy in a hug and sobbing. Lelouch returned the hug.

"I will show you to the... Geass Directorate."

* * *

Okay, so we have another case of ending before I intended, and the reasoning this time is the same. Next chapter will be fun to write, and the chapter 17 or 18 should mark the beginning of the invasion of Area 11 (which will not be cut down to a large scale conflict in the Tokyo Settlement as it has been in both of the Black Rebellions in the anime). So if you are like me and disliked the jump from small operations in season one to a massive battle and from invading to coast of Area 11 to suddenly attacking Tokyo in R2, well then you've got something to look forward to.

And once again, what do you guys think will happen next? The basics are self-explanatory enough, but I'm asking more for the detailed side of things. If you have any guesses, feel free to voice them.


	17. A Different Time

Chapter 17, yay! Can't think of anything I need to say except to respond to a few reviews. First we have dragonlor562 and his review. I do admit Rolo is a little OC, but keep in mind that in canon Rolo had been watching over Lelouch for a year, and had been taught from the very beginning that Lelouch was to die the moment he regained his memories. There was a lot less standing in the way of a reasonable trust here. If that isn't sufficient reasoning, well, that's a blunder on my part. But that's how I interpreted it, anyway.

And Infinite Freedom, I have to say that you're right on that point. But at the same time, it was an infinitely suicidal plan (it's worth noting that both attacks on the Tokyo Settlement were races against time). I've portrayed Lelouch as a far more level-headed commander that makes his victories complete rather than going for a quick route to victory, and so it's better off straying from canon Lelouch's head shot tactics.

And to those wondering why Rolo was able to immobilize everyone except Lelouch when technically the nature of his Geass says otherwise, allow me to explain. Rolo has been shown in flashbacks to have had Geass for upwards of seven to ten years (my own speculation, since his official age was never given), and yet there have been no changes in it's power (no going runaway, no manifesting itself in the other eyes, nothing). So I took a liberty in that fact and gave his Geass the ability to create areas within it's generated sphere that are rendered unaffected by it. So when he used it in the hangar he singled out Lelouch and left him unaffected. Yes this does have costly side-effects that will be shown later, don't worry.

Now, enjoy!

* * *

_The time to challenge Geass had come._

_Geass is a power to be feared if you don't have control over it. It has the ability to make the impossible possible; thats all the more true if the person knows how to use the power they are given. Absolute Obedience is the tip of the iceberg as far as this limitless power goes. But if that's true, then there are powers out there that can change everything; mind control, time-stopping, absolute orders... all are strengths that could turn the tide of any battle._

_To that end, Rolo led us to the Geass Directorate. The underground sanctuary for the arguably cursed people such as myself... its an interesting place that I'd like to study if the situations weren't as they were. The large buildings towering over the smaller ones, and the central building towering over everything; intentional or otherwise, its a fine representation of Britannia's rule. Which means the Geass Directorate is another place to be reformed._

_Another place that I must conquer._

o--o

"This is Ground Squad One. Kyoshiro Todo, ready. Awaiting orders."

"Ground Squad Two ready, Kururugi Suzaku reporting. When you're ready, Lelouch."

"Evacuation Squad One and Shinichiro Tamaki at the ready!"

Lelouch smiled; everything was set. Rolo was on the ground to assist, and those in the air were ready to take out what Lelouch could only consider to be the headquarters. He said, "Proceed with Phase One. Make sure your visors are on and ear plugs are in place, and remove them only when absolutely necessary. Team Zero, move out!"

The Gawain led Team Zero – consisting of the Guren, Hakumei and Shen-Hu – over the dark buildings illuminated only by the radiant glow of the Thought Elevator that was unique to the underground haven of the Geass Directorate. The buildings looked surprisingly modern for an underground sanctuary that could have been upward of thirty years old – perhaps many more, Lelouch couldn't begin to guess.

Suzaku couldn't suppress his worry as he ran through the streets of the city below, eyes scanning from side to side for anyone. He hadn't found any yet, but Lelouch hadn't hidden the fact that the people they'd run across would have Geass. Even though they had another Geass user on their side – their questionable new recruit, Rolo – Suzaku couldn't deny the fact that Geass was something he'd much rather fear than embrace.

Yet another difference between him and the man his best friend now was.

Rolo trudged along behind Suzaku, frowning more to himself than to anything else. Just why was he here, really? Why hadn't he killed Lelouch the moment he arrived, like he had planned to? The thought had crossed his mind that he was a tool to V.V., sure, but why did he believe Lelouch? He was a liar, right? But then, so was V.V. and they were both the same. At least, that's how Rolo saw it.

But at least Lelouch was willing to give him a sense of normalcy. V.V. didn't care enough about those beneath him to do such a thing, Rolo knew. Perhaps Rolo had caught onto that immediately. Even beneath the mask, something about Lelouch told him – screamed out to him, even – that he was someone who would give him a true life. One where he was more than a disposable tool. And if that was true, like Rolo so desperately hoped, then he would gladly abandon all the falsehoods of his past.

"Hey, you... Rolo," Suzaku started, hesitantly. He glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye tentatively, "Why are you with us, anyway?"

Rolo stayed silent and Suzaku frowned, making a mental note to ask Lelouch about it later. The two continued on their way with their squad, stopping only when they came across the odd citizen; Rolo would then step forth and talk to him or her, and within a few moments they were on their way again, with yet another citizen running around spreading the word that 'the invaders are friends and that Lord Rolo is with them.'

Another reason Suzaku would keep note of to not trust Rolo for.

Up above, Lelouch took a far more trigger-happy role. Knightmare Frames had taken position on some rooftops to defend the Directorate – more than likely as a poor safety insurance on V.V.'s part – and Lelouch took no small amount of pleasure in firing his newly perfected Hadron Cannons freely, taking out anything within the range of their streams of destruction. Pilots of the Frames destroyed in such a fashion were promised a quick death, which in it's own way was a form of humanity, Lelouch thought.

"Lelouch," C.C. scolded, completely serious. "I thought you were trying to get the support of the people here?"

"Death isn't something worth frowning upon," Lelouch responded, firing another wave from his cannons to take out another line of Sutherland. "We cause death to end death. Those who cause death are martyrs while those who kill are the evil ones. It is a simple law, C.C., and embracing it is the only way to move forward."

The gray witch laughed loudly, but said nothing. Instead she charged ahead and above the Gawain, launching a blast from her Fukushahado cannon to take out a Sutherland that was spared from Lelouch's destructive path. The Shen-Hu and Guren Aerial-Type followed, attacking Frames outside of Lelouch's immediate range. The damage was devastating; anything that had a signal had a lifespan of less than a minute, traditionally, and to their great dismay the pilots knew that.

Meanwhile, things had become more than hectic on the ground. Those who met with civilians that hadn't heard from Rolo soon found themselves held up trying to avoid one form of Geass or another – from things as reasonable as simple time-stopping like Rolo to unbelievable things such as full mind control, Lelouch had warned them of the possibility of Geass manifesting itself in just about any form involving the mind, and had assured them that their current protection would keep them safe. The only thing they weren't spared from was time-stopping, but when faced with unarmed civilians that was hardly a threat.

For Todo, the only thing he actually had to worry about was his own shattered nerves. He'd only just recently learned such a power existed, and now he was facing what might as well have been an entire army armed with such powers. It suddenly made perfect sense why Lelouch would want control of such a place, he reasoned, but the risk was strong indeed. The soldiers around him were no less unnerved, but like their leader they put on a strong exterior and suppressed those who stood before them as best they could.

But it was a fascinating thing at the same time. From what he could gather, Todo could only speculate on how powerful Geass could be. The power to give any order, the power to stop time, mind-controlling... all of them were as intriguing as they were frightening. And Todo was having more than a little trouble settling on any one opinion about them; was Geass something terrifying that needed to be removed? Or was it an interesting power that should be embraced and used as necessary?

Perhaps it was something the mind wasn't meant to understand.

"Sir, we've restrained another group of civilians and neutralized them. Orders?"

Todo turned to the soldier next to him, studying him for a moment, "Send them to the meeting point and have them prepared for pickup."

Up above, Lelouch sighed contently as he rested the Gawain atop a large building, taking a minute to observe his surroundings. The area had been swept clean of any defenses; from Sutherlands to standard turrets, nothing had been left in the wake of Lelouch's path of carnage. But now that everything was all safe up top, he bid the Gawain a saddened farewell as he lowered himself to the ground and exited the cockpit, lowering himself to the ground. As he touched down he spoke into his headset, saying, "Karen, Xingke, watch over everything from above. C.C., come with me."

o--o

The seemingly young V.V. stood patiently before a large stone door, Geass' symbol of a red bird-like sigil crested into the center of it's door. A light of bright purple spewed from beneath the door, illuminating the entire room – which was a surprisingly large room – in a purple glow far brighter than the light that illuminated the city outside.

With him was one of his more trusted Geass associates, an old man of sixty or seventy. He had aged well in his own right, though it was hard to tell for sure with the black robe and black hood that covered him almost entirely. His only distinguishing feature was the fear in his eyes and his mouth hanging open slightly as he tried to find his voice.

When he did – which took far longer than it should have for any living being – he cried, "Lord V.V., what are we going to do?!"

With a light chuckle, V.V. replied, "We are going to plan our escape. Running from Marianne's kin is bothersome, but we can't face him as we are. Villeta and Kewell will hold him off for now."

The air grew heavy as that settled in, and for the first time the grim reality of their plight came into focus. They were playing a dangerous game now that they were exposed to the extent of the Black Prince's power indeed.

"What about them?" the aged man asked, gesturing wildly. "Surely Lelouch came just for his friends?"

"He came to take control of the Directorate. Getting his friends isn't his top priority," V.V. said, his voice carrying a noticeable disdain.

A loud explosion told them just how urgent their time frame was. Through the newly created entrance came Lelouch and Rolo, the former smirking with the latter trailing behind him, eyes shifting from side to side meekly. Rolo's convictions had become a scattered mess and he had to will himself onward, to convince himself that what he was doing was the right thing to do and that not doing so would only mean more pain. His place by Lelouch was one he could feel secure in, he thought, and returning to V.V. was certainly not an appetizing alternative.

"So, Rolo, you did betray us..." V.V. chuckled humorlessly.

"V.V.," Lelouch's eyes weren't hidden as he walked, and the sight of the glaring teen, his eyes glowing red with the Geass residing within, was nothing short of frightening. The old man standing behind V.V. stepped backwards as quickly as he could before doing an about face and picking up his pace. V.V. gave the coward only a passing notice before he turned his attention to Lelouch again, matching his glare.

"Lelouch," V.V. greeted calmly, as if they were old friends meeting after a long absence.

"The power of Geass is not unknown to my men. In this city are over five hundred men, all having taken necessary precautions against Geass to protect themselves. Your defenses have been removed, and those around you are fleeing. You have lost, V.V.," Lelouch drawled, willing his Geass to life.

"That power is useless on me, Lelouch. You should have figured that much out, at least."

"Of course," Lelouch nodded, smirking. There was a prolonged – that seemed like pointless waiting to V.V. - silence that followed. It was broken moments later by an explosions, the sounds of landspinners and cries of agony. V.V. whipped around just in time to see the tail end of a long train catching fire, followed by the old man and many black robed people running toward him, complete terror written all over their faces. Lelouch chuckled in a sinister manner at the sight, "Rolo."

The young boy stepped forth, his Geass now blazing in his eye. Everyone but himself, Lelouch and V.V. froze in their place and Rolo pulled out a gun, firing into the center of the old man's forehead quickly, turning slightly to fire another round at another terrified person. Before he could fire another bullet his Geass was cut short and everyone started running again, stopping only momentarily to regard their two fresh casualties.

Though he didn't show it, Rolo was beyond confused. "My Geass was stopped...?"

With that same bored expression - the one that once would have struck fear into Rolo just because of its nature – V.V. said, "I have allies on my side that have been... 'eager' to meet you, Lelouch."

Two shadows emerged from the adjoined area where the now blazing mess of a train rested. Kewell was smirking as his eyes landed on Lelouch, while Villeta – seemingly unemotional for the most part – gave nothing more than a flicker of a scowl. Kewell's right eye was blazing with a blue variant of the Geass, identical in every way to any other Geass except for the deep blue color it adopted. Villeta's left eye was similarly different from regular Geass manifestations, but her left eye glowed with a dark green that brought a whole new meaning to green-eyed.

Lelouch scowled, "Kewell Soresi and Villeta Nu. Jeremiah's colleagues."

Kewell nodded, "One and the same." Lelouch's eyes once again glowed, preparing to activate Geass, and Kewell wagged a finger and tutted at him, "Don't waste your energy, my Black Prince. See, what we have here are not normal as far as this cursed power goes."

A raise of the eyebrow showed Lelouch's interest, "Oh?"

"What I have here," Kewell continued, pointing to his eye. "Is a Geass Canceller. Any Geass used within a certain radius of me can be shut down. Simple as that." He then pointed toward Villeta's eye, smirking, "And her Geass, is a Geass Neutralizer. So long as she has it active, your Geass is sealed and can't be activated! That certainly puts a stop to any plans you had to get to us with your Geass, hmm?"

Putting on an equally disturbing, bitter smile, V.V. said, "I'll leave the rest to you two. We'll continue our escape now." Villeta and Kewell moved to block the path out of the large chamber while V.V. ran, both keeping their eyes intently fixed on the two people in front of them. Lelouch's scowl looked as if it couldn't get anymore demented while the look of indifference – save for the wide eyes – on Rolo was disturbing in its own right.

Kewell was the first to charge, closing the distance between him and Lelouch and launching a punch at the prince's gut. He was stopped by Rolo who moved with blinding speed, stopping the incoming fist with one hand and swinging his leg out to trip Kewell at the same time. Before he could land a blow on the fallen Kewell, Villeta launched an attack on Rolo that he only narrowly dodged, sending Villeta flying in mid kick a short distance away. When she returned to the attack Lelouch was her target, who was relatively helpless as she attacked, quickly finding himself on his back.

"The Black Prince on his ass," Kewell laughed loudly at the sight that he saw from the corner of his eye, grabbing Rolo's foot before it could stomp down on his abdomen. He pushed on the foot, ultimately reversing the position so that he was standing over Rolo. With a smirk he continued, "So many would love to see you in such a position, _my prince_. Pity that you won't live long enough for another to see this."

Lelouch clenched his teeth as he tried futilely to break free of Villeta's grip. Despite all the squirming her grip on his forearms remained strong and her seat upon his torso was not lost and she smirked down at him, willing him to try further. Knowing better than to try further he tried activating his Geass, but before he could open his mouth Villeta's Geass had activated, neutralizing his own. Lelouch studied her intently as he tried over and over to get his own Geass to activate, willing her to slip up. _'Every Geass has a weakness somewhere,'_ he thought, determined.

And sure enough, she was soon panting slightly, he grip on his forearms slacking. Lelouch took the opportunity to break free of her grasp and pull himself to his feet, backing away and getting some distance between himself and Villeta. "I see..." he mused gently as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Her smirk seemed to have transferred to his face, reversing the situation entirely.

"You see what?" Villeta challenged, narrowing her eyes.

"Your Geass' weakness," Lelouch waved a hand for emphasis. "It drains your energy to keep it active. Meaning you can only use it so much before you're too tired to move." Villeta growled as she began another round of attacks, but this time her movements were sluggish and Lelouch easily kept himself out of harms' way. It wasn't long before she was panting but she didn't give up even then, trying all the harder to hit Lelouch. She finally managed to land a fist into Lelouch's gut, but the blow failed to do anything more than knock the wind from the prince. Both of them fell at once, gasping for breath on their hands and knees.

Meanwhile, Rolo found himself in a similarly well-matched fight with Kewell. Kewell's Canceller rendered his Geass worthless, bringing the fight down to a battle of brute force, with the odds stacked heavily in Kewell's favor. Unlike his partner his movements were not hindered by extensive use of his Geass, forcing Rolo into a constant defense broken only by the occasional bold counterattack, each met with little success. While Rolo managed to avoid the brunt of the attacks the direct hits continued to stack up, whereas Kewell had taking just a single strong punch to the face.

Lelouch managed to climb to his feet, stepping back so his back was to Rolo's own. Surrounded by the still strong Kewell and the drained but still far more powerful Villeta their hopes of succeeding seemed overwhelmingly low, coupled by the fact that they had a handicap in the form of Lelouch himself. Despite that the two remained strong, nodding to each other before they set off to face their respective foes again. Rolo fought with a vigor previously unknown to him, driving Kewell back with punch after punch. Each punch had an extra force to it – an added strength that was enough to force Kewell into a defensive similar to Rolo's previous attempt in it's futility.

A well aimed kick to the ribs turned the tide again, sending Rolo to the ground. He groaned at the aching pressure threatening to shatter his ribs, intensified by the foot pressing into his stomach. He coughed heavily as it pushed in and he swung forward in a reflexive motion that proved pointless as his face only connected with Kewell's knee, resulting in the orange haired man laughing heartily at Rolo's discomfort. The laugh was not by any means normal, distorted to the point of sound maniacal and twisted. Yes, Kewell was certainly no longer insane.

Like many in the past, he'd become unable to control Geass.

Lelouch's situation was far less desperate, but despite her exhaustion Villeta was able to keep up with the feeble fight Lelouch was capable of putting up. Despite not being drained at all his movements were slow, resulting in a battle that appeared to be one that had dragged on for ages – Villeta was so tired it might as well have, while Lelouch's physical ineptitude made his physical prowess hardly any better than Villeta's in her exhausted state. They exchanged sluggish punches and sloppy dodges to eachother's attacks, and little more than the odd punch to the face or a rather soft kick to the leg ever landed.

If they had an audience – which they were lucky the didn't – they would have surely been the comic relief to the intensity at which Kewell and Rolo fought.

"Rolo Halburton," Kewell chuckled, pushing on his foot harder still. "Why did you betray Lord V.V.? Is Lelouch using you? Did he use his Geass on you, as well? Like he did to Jeremiah? Did he manipulate you into fighting for him as well? Make you a pawn to his game?"

Rolo growled, "He didn't. He gave me what V.V. never offered me: a normal life! With Lelouch, I don't get sent on assassination missions! With Lelouch, all that is asked of me is that I aid him! What Lelouch has given me is different from the fragile existence I shared with V.V.!" Despite all odds he managed to push the foot aside, jumping to his feet and ramming his knee into Kewell's stomach, "With Lelouch, I have a future!"

Kewell laughed as soon as he had regained the breath that Rolo's knee had sucked from him, "A _future_? With a prince who's abandoned his name and is fighting to overthrow his own father?!" Kewell's laugh turned hysteric as he blocked an incoming fist, returning the favor by ramming his knee into Rolo's gut. "Lelouch Vi Britannia is a _joke_! He's a traitor to his country, he's forsaken those who care about him, and he's become the devil! There is no future with such a man!"

Lelouch, who had been within earshot of Kewell the entire time, froze when he heard those words. It barely registered in his mind that Villeta had seized the opportunity to land a punch to his face, and the pain didn't register itself until he felt the cold ground against the back of his neck. With a groan he tried to return to his feet only to be sent back to the ground by a feeble kick to the ribs. "I'm... not... a traitor..." he gasped out as he made a second attempt at reaching his feet, ultimately succeeding when he rammed his head into Villeta's gut with as much force as his weakened body could muster.

"Then what... are you?" Villeta spat, glaring despite being doubled over in pain. Lelouch ignored her as he forced his knee into her head, sending her flying into the ground with a resounding crash. With a loud, pained groan she continued, "You're claiming to be fighting for the people, but you're only spreading chaos... is that acceptable to you?"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes, "Before there can be change, you must destroy the past. That much is true." Gathering every bit of strength he had left he stomped down on Villeta's stomach, and she coughed up blood in return, gasping painfully. "If I am to be a devil, I will accept that fate to change this world. If I must fight my siblings because they believe I am wrong, so be it. If I must fight others like you, who would sell your soul for something as petty as a chance to get to me, I will."

With one final stomp to the gut the remainder of Villeta's strength left her, and Lelouch crumpled to his knees as he tried to regain his strength. Meanwhile Rolo struggled to fend of Kewell's latest attack; a stream of forceful thrusts of his knee toward Rolo's gut. Rolo ended up lifting his leg enough to take the hit to his knee, taking a small opening to place his fist firmly into Kewell's jaw. Kewell's fist found its way to Rolo's jaw in kind and both fell to their knees, exchanging punch after punch while lacking the strength to manage blocking any attack the other sent their way.

Their engagement ended with a bang as a bullet lodged itself in Kewell's leg. He cried out as he fell backwards, and then another bullet found its way to his other leg. Looking up, Rolo saw C.C. standing over him, a look of indifference on her face as she tossed the gun aside, satisfied with the damage she'd done to Kewell. She looked to Lelouch who had just climbed to his feet after restraining the unconscious Villeta, saying, "Are you done here?"

Lelouch nodded, "Restrain Kewell and we're done. We can still catch V.V. if we hurry."

As soon as Rolo had mustered the energy to do anything he restrained Kewell by locking his wrists together behind his back and similarily locking his ankle together, leaving the writing man on the ground where he soon lost consciousness. Rolo remained behind to watch over their new captives while Lelouch and C.C. continued onward, making their way down a long, dark stairwell that ended into a large chamber, dark save for candles resting in alcoves along the walls on both sides. The room was empty, extending far into the distance where there was a doorway leading into a long hallway. Save for the stairwell from which they came, it was the only exit.

"This place is..." Lelouch started, eyebrows raising.

"The Geass Directorate was originally called the Geass Cult," C.C. explained, taking the first steps into the large chamber, Lelouch trailing slightly behind. "This place was a torture chamber for people that we captured for trying to hunt us. Back when our existence was commonly known we were hated, and there was many a battle between normal people and the immortals. Those who had Geass were our soldiers, so to speak."

Not waiting for Lelouch's response she continued, "That fate ended in the late 1800s when a Britannian Emperor gave us his aid. The Geass Cults were renamed into Directorates, and under his watchful eye we were reformed into an organization that hid from the common man. Before long, our existence became no more than a fairytale."

Lelouch nodded, afraid to respond. What could he say, anyway? For all of his suffering, he couldn't hope to understand hundreds of years of oppression and torture for people like C.C., suffering under yet another social barrier. Instead he remained silent, hoping C.C. understood his silent words of consolation. C.C. smiled through the silence, saying nothing more as they continued on their way, out of the long chamber and into the darkened hallway. She understood him perfectly.

At the end of the hallway was another large chamber. This one was cold and darker than the last, with far fewer candles on either side of the room – a total of twelve in all, all blazing a purple flame. The Geass sigil was crested into the ground, and something resembling an altar was at the far end of this chamber, with a stairwell extending upwards in the far right corner. C.C. paused for a minute while Lelouch continued on; she was getting a bad feeling about this room.

"Lelouch, stop, we should..." her protest fell short as Lelouch stepped onto the Geass sigil in the center of the room. A similar sigil appeared on C.C.'s forehead and she cried out while the sigil on the ground and Lelouch's eyes similarly came to life. Lelouch cried out in similar pain and collapsed to the ground, covering his eyes as an agonizing burning sensation washed through them.

Scenes rushed through his head one after the other, none staying long enough for him to get a good focus on any one of them. When it finally stopped flashingand settled on one scene, a picture of C.C. appeared. She was standing in a large clearing, and in the distance bombs were being dropped and guns were being fired; it was complete chaos. Her face was as stoic as he remembered, but worry briefly showed itself before she turned and ran, followed closely by a group of men garbed in a dark green uniformed, all armed with rifles.

They fired at her, but no matter how many rounds found their way into her she didn't stop. Each one elicited a louder cry of pain from her, and Lelouch was forced to feel every pang of pain that washed through her body. Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore the scene changed, instead showing a restrained C.C. being placed inside a large human-shaped coffin of sorts. Nails lined the inside of the lid, and she cried out in complete agony as it closed, and once again every bit of pain washed through Lelouch in kind. It was almost unbearable.

Again it shifted just before he felt he'd lose consciousness – if he was still conscious – to reveal C.C. being restrained by four men once again dressed in dark green uniforms, with many others surrounding them, smirks on their faces. C.C. had been stripped down to crude undergarments and several torches were pressed close to her body, the flame licking lightly against her body before they pushed the torches closer, and once again the now familiar feeling of agonizing pain coursed through his body as she was burned, his own skin feeling as though it was being melted off.

That was the last of the scenes, and with that he lay sprawled out on the ground, fully conscious, eyes wide and staring at the wall, unmoving. His body uncontrollably twitched randomly from time to time, and he was subconsciously muttering various things under his breath. Even if he could feel, it would have been a surprise if Lelouch could notice the torrents of tears streaking down his face at that moment.

o--o

The lights illuminating the infirmary of the Hogosha were blinding when Lelouch awoke, but he didn't even bother to shield them. The lifeless daze he'd held prior to losing consciousness came back full force; his heart felt as though it weren't beating, his eyes were dull in their lifeless stare, and his body continued to convulse and twitch, subconsciously showing the world just how shaken he truly was. Next to him were C.C. and Suzaku, one looking at him as if he were an alien while the other had concern on their face. But Lelouch didn't notice either in his daze.

"Hey, Lelouch..." Suzaku gave his friend a gentle shake, surprised to see Lelouch's head turn to regard Suzaku with that same lifeless daze. Suzaku felt sweat forming all over and hastened to say, "A-a-are you okay, Lelouch?"

Lelouch said nothing. His gaze drifted from Suzaku to C.C. and as he took in her appearance, his eyes went wide and broke free of their lifeless look. Color seemed to drain from his face and into his eyes as he slowly began to show signs of life, and by the time his eyes had regained their normal red and purple brilliance, his skin was white as snow. "C.C.," he whispered, unusually comfortingly. Without another word he pulled her to himself and wept against her shoulder. C.C. didn't pull away despite her surprise, instead staring down at Lelouch warily.

Suzaku's expression wasn't nearly as stoic. He jumped the moment Lelouch began clinging to C.C.; even in their childhood Lelouch had been a strong person who was never willing to show weakness in front of others. And now that same Lelouch was now clinging to his partner as though his life depended it, as though simply letting her go would make her disappear forever. It was terrifying in it's own way.

"Lelouch... what happened...?" Suzaku said at last.

As the cries died down to quiet sobs Lelouch looked toward Suzaku and between sobs he said, "Where is everyone? Our friends... are they safe?"

Suzaku nodded eagerly, "You were taking too long so Xingke sent my group in to check. We found C.C. leaving a basement of some sort with your arm around her shoulder, carrying you. We took the prisoners you had with Rolo and our friends, and got out of there."

Lelouch managed a small smile despite the tears running down his face, "I see... Can we see them?"

"Of course." Suzaku extended a hand that Lelouch hesitantly took, and then offered his other hand which was holding Lelouch's mask. When he saw Lelouch's quizzical gaze he said, "They know you're Zero, but I doubt they know about your Geass. At the very least, they won't be expecting to see it in your eyes. I thought this would help." Lelouch nodded and accepted the mask, placing it over his head and firmly locking it in place. He was still wearing the rest of his uniform, and the mask completed the imposing look that was the masked hero known as Zero, even if the world knew who it was underneath.

As they moved to leave the room C.C. stood up to follow. Suzaku looked back at her, furrowing his brows as he said, "You should return to Lelouch's room."

Lelouch waved a hand weakly, "No, she can come. Nunnally would want to see her, too."

Suzaku nodded, not about to deny Lelouch's wishes in his fragile state. As they walked down the halls of the Hogosha Lelouch didn't even bother to look confidant, and the slouching of his shoulders and Suzaku standing nearby for support was not questioned by anybody. There wasn't a soul on the ship who was unaware of the state he had returned in, and though their knowledge had been limited to saying he fell victim to the power of Geass in some way, they knew enough to ask no more.

Lelouch wasn't surprised by the despairing atmosphere when the three of them entered Nunnally's quarters, and he was equally unsurprised by the skeptical looks on the faces of his friends as they stared hard at the masked man striding toward them weakly. As he came close Rivalz stood, taking a defensive stance between Lelouch and the others, saying, "Why are you here, Lelouch? Why are _we_ here?!"

Lelouch scoffed lightly, though the sound was far more harsh to the recipients, the sound having been warped by the mask pulled over Lelouch's mouth and the mask over his head. "I came to save you all! That's why you're here, Rivalz."

"We don't want help from Zero. We want our friend, Lelouch. The kindhearted Vice-President from Ashford Academy!" Rivalz took a step forward, swinging his hand forward and catching a fistful of Lelouch's clothes, "You're not our friend as you are now. You're a murderer, a terrorist, and a traitor!"

Lelouch swung a fist with surprising force, catching Rivalz in the jaw and sending him back several steps, "I'm a murderer?! No, Britannians are murderers! I kill, but I kill to give a future to the weak! I'm a terrorist! No, I'm a revolutionary! I'm the leader of an army free of racism, fighting to give the rest of the world that right!" Rivalz took a step back in fear as Lelouch carelessly tore the mask from his face, revealing the depths of his Geass within them, "And I'm a traitor? I'm not Britannian anymore, Rivalz. My father cast me aside after leaving my mother for dead; the way I see it, I'm more Japanese than I am Britannian. Britannia has betrayed the world, it's betrayed the people, and it's betrayed me. I'm holding the weight of their suffering and protecting them all for Britannia!"

Despite their best attempts, nobody could make a coherent thought as they stared into the pained depths of Lelouch's Geass-infused eyes. Rivalz was shaking in fear as he looked into them, his eyes wide as he slowly backed away until he collapsed to the ground, eyes shying away from Lelouch's. The only one not fearing was Nunnally who's disabilities spared her from the grim sight, and she eased herself forward, saying, "_Onii-sama_..."

Lelouch calmed immediately, dropping to one knee and taking Nunnally's hands between his own, "Nunnally, I'm sorry. Please forgive me for doing this, but..." her inquisitive gaze and innocent features proved too much for him to look at without fear of breaking into another bout of tears and so he looked away. "I have to. Our father has forsaken us, and he's trying to make a world where the weak are discarded. I can't allow that... Please, Nunnally..." The tears began to flow then, guiltily, fearing that the reaction his sister would give would shatter his resolve. Nunnally held his confidence in the palm of his hand despite his convictions, and her disapproval would absolutely crush him. "Please, understand."

Tears began to flow down Nunnally's face too; she could feel his hands shaking as he cried, his hands calloused and bruised from his months as a tactical mastermind, masquerading for the world. Her brother – the strong _Onii-sama_ that she needed as a pillar of strength to go on – seemed so weak at that moment. His every action had been made with honest intent, she knew, and though she couldn't sympathize with the killing, she knew what would happen to her brother should she not support him. And she had to admit that he was doing a good thing; there had been times, she recalled, when Zero's regard for human life despite his situation was evident. Her brother was still there, she realized, even through the mask he wore.

With that thought she smiled sadly, "I understand, _Onii-sama_. If you think you must do this..." She paused briefly, searching herself for any doubt before she continued, "I'll support you."

The two siblings embraced each other as they cried, finally able to truly hold each other after so long. Suzaku watched the sight before turning to Rivalz, apologetic. "Rivalz..."

"Why are you helping him, Suzaku?" Rivalz spat bitterly, nodding toward Lelouch. "That's not our friend. He's changed. Did you see his eyes?!"

Suzaku smiled grimly and nodded, "He is still Lelouch. Lelouch is trying to make a better world, no matter what happens to him. If its beneficial he will allow others to hate him, simply so they aren't hurt later."

Rivalz narrowed his eyes, "That doesn't explain his eyes."

Suzaku nodded again, "Geass. You've heard of it right?" Rivalz nodded, eyes large and inquisitive. "That is Lelouch's Geass right there. He looks terrifying, but its another change he's taken in stride. Lelouch is prepared to give what he has to give for his success."

Rivalz huffed, "Why does he think he needs to do all this?"

Suzaku smiled, "Who are the poverty stricken people living in Area 11?"

Rivalz said immediately, "Elevens! But why...?"

Suzaku shook his head, "They aren't Elevens; they're Japanese. That is why Lelouch fights. So that the Japanese aren't oppressed Elevens, and all the other Numbers have that same freedom. No matter how hard I tried, I've realized that kind of change can't be done from the inside. Even if the path is bloody, Lelouch has the right idea."

Lelouch said nothing to his friends as he drew away from Nunnally, took C.C.'s hand and led her from the room. Rivalz found a new direction to take and asked, "Who is she?"

"The one who gave Lelouch his Geass."

"Then she is like that V.V. person..." Rivalz shuddered. "Why does he have someone like her around?"

Suzaku smiled gently, "I have no idea. But she means a lot to Lelouch; when he awoke this morning, he was a wreck. He'd been pulled from the Directorate in a lifeless state of subconscious, silently crying. He hasn't told anybody what happened, but the first thing he did when he woke up was grab onto her and cry. She means a lot to him, more than I thought he could care for anyone."

Rivalz cast a sympathetic smile back at Shirley who offered a fake smile in return and shook her head, shutting her eyes tightly. Rivalz turned back to Suzaku, "I can't forgive Lelouch for all this, but I won't push it anymore. Where is this ship heading?"

Suzaku nodded in understanding, "We'll be staying here for another month or so, and then we'll be going to Area 11. We can return you to Ashford soon after."

Rivalz grimaced, "Going to Area 11 means..."

"Yes, we're attacking Area 11 to return it to the Order of the Black Knights and the Japanese. We'll form an independent nation for the Japanese, and from there every Britannian will be given the right to remain under Lelouch's administration or be deported to the mainland."

Rivalz stood stunned, pondering what Lelouch had planned long after Suzaku left.

o--o

_The world was finally ready to enter the next stage. With V.V.'s retreat from the Chinese Federation, there was nothing left standing between the Anti-Britannian Front and it's formal declaration of war against the Holy Britannian Empire. The Chinese Federation had finally found complete peace and it's people were recovering, meanwhile the Anti-Britannian Front continued to grow in strength._

_One such development was the Han-Shu. In terms of performance it was on par with most of Britannia's Fifth Generation Frames, more than capable of putting up a large fight against them, coupled with the fact that they retain the Gun-Ru's mass-production effectiveness, and the Anti-Britannian Front was subsequently reformed to accommodate their usefulness. Han-Shus vastly outnumbered any other Knightmare Frame in our forces by the time we'd gotten a considerable amount of them in stock._

_Jeremiah came back from the grips of death, declaring his overwhelming desire to fight for our cause to the death and that he would not accept any other duty. He was thus given the new Edinburgh Knightmare Frame Rakshata created – a Frame incapable of Mass Production based around the Sutherland and the Gloucester, boasting the strongest mixture of the two the world had seen. Despite it's lack of a Float System it still carried overwhelming strength from two MVS to the MVS Lance as well as a burst style Rifle previously unseen in Knightmare Frame technology. Jeremiah was more than pleased._

_The Lancelot Kosui was a far greater success._

o--o

Lelouch stood before a newly constructed Lancelot, Suzaku by his side staring up at it with equal awe. The Frame looked nothing like it once had; the white Frame was a much brighter color, the yellow secondary color was replaced with black, and the eyes were made a dark red to give the overall look a far more devilish and menacing appearance. It had many weapons attached to its sides and back and a Float System identical to the Guren Aerial-Type's despite their black color, and above them was a large blue piece containing a Hadron blaster.

Suzaku gaped as he took in the whole appearance, "This is... the Lancelot?"

Lelouch nodded, "The Lancelot Kosui. Rakshata outdid herself with this; the color is far more fitting for the Black Knights, after all."

Suzaku couldn't dispute that point, "When will I get to test it?"

Lelouch smiled menacingly, "We've prepared an area near Xi'an for you to give it a test run."

Suzaku couldn't contain his glee as Lelouch passed him the Activation Key.

o--o

_The Chinese Federation went through major changes with it's change in political administration and general leadership. The Tianzi was officially given full power over the Chinese Federation and subsequently renamed it the Empire of China, naming the Anti-Britannian Front the empire's military force. Her first move was to act on Xingke's advice and reform military ranks; the Anti-Britannian Front adopted the rankings I'd given the Order of the Black Knights, and Xingke was made the army's Commander-in-Chief while I was name it's Grand Commander. The independant Haikou city was named the empire's capital and the Tianzi and her immediate political allies – Kaguya Sumeragi. Diethard Ried and Zhou Xianglin – were relocated there. I was given full control over the army with Xingke, just as it had been, and one month after its creation we declared our first act as the Empire of China._

o--o

Lelouch scowled as he looked at the slowly approaching land in the distance, as he had found himself doing almost constantly over the past month. Happiness had come solely when in the presence of Suzaku, Nunnally or C.C. as of late, and when none were with him he couldn't help but feel the bitter feeling of displeasure overwhelm him. His friends having betrayed him played no small part in this recent change, he knew, but he was determined to see them safely returned to Ashford all the same. Perhaps if they recognized his good intent they would...

He shook his head free of such thoughts at once. He couldn't think like that now, not when they were preparing to begin the bloodiest battle they'd been faced with thus far. No, he had to focus solely on the battle to come. If his friends came to accept him, all the better. But he couldn't allow himself to dwell on their betrayal at that moment. No matter how painful it was, especially after he stuck his neck out to protect them because he cared genuinely for them...

"Stop!" Lelouch growled to himself, shaking his head wildly. "We're at war! Friendship has no place out here, Lelouch!" Like the madman he'd come to be, Lelouch continued to convince himself that he couldn't show friendship on the battlefield in a friendly manner. Several people would have looked at him like he was insane, but luckily radio silence spared him from such a fate. "Okay, Lelouch, the time has --"

"-- Lelouch, it's time," Ogi reported from his place aboard the Hogosha. Lelouch jumped before he nodded to himself, ready. He flipped on his allied channels and sighed deeply, willing away his nerves for the moment.

"Rolo, are the Special Corps ready?"

"We're ready, Lelouch."

"Xingke, are the ground forces ready to land?"

"They're ready and eager to get going."

"Team Zero, ready to sortie?"

"Ready!" several voices – Karen, Suzaku, and C.C. - responded in unison.

"Good." Lelouch smirked, gripping his controls tightly. He shook himself twice more for good measure before saying in a booming voice, "All forces, attack!"

On February 14th 2018 a.t.b., the Empire of China declared war on the Holy Britannian Empire.

* * *

Okay, I'm pleased with this in all honesty. Sorry this chapter took longer to write than I had hoped; I hit a brief writer's block with my Fire Emblem fic. Now, to explain a few things. First of all is all the technological advancements revealed at the end of the chapter. They seemed rather sudden I admit, but that last bit was a one month lapse from the end of the attack on the Geass Directorate; just in case there was confusion there.

And to those curious enough to ask, the past I had C.C. talking about is completely made up and more or less based around the witch hunts, with a far more violent aspect. Just so you don't come running saying the series said no such thing, because I'm well aware that it didn't.

Also, if anyone is wondering about the Lancelot Kosui, Kosui is Japanese for Lake, which is a reference to the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian Legends who adopted Lancelot. I thought it made sense when I created the Frame – on that note, the Frame is essentially the Lancelot Conquista with the Guren Aerial-Type's wings and the appearance changes I described.

Next time on Code Geass: Timeless Imprisonment, part one of the epilogue to our endless fighting! Once the stuff in Area 11 is done we'll be going into a few chapters devoid of any fighting, so if you're loving all the conflict you'll be displeased with that. At any rate the war in Area 11 will be several chapters long, so it's still far away anyway.


	18. Shifting the Pieces

Okay, before we start I believe I should clear up the poor wording I adopted at the end of the last chapter. When I said this would be part one of the epilogue, I did not mean the epilogue to this fic. I meant the epilogue to what could be considered R1, and then we'll be edging towards R2 which is where things will become more focused on direct war with Britannia. I won't overrule a sequel to this fic yet, but what I do with such a thing I have no idea, as I can assure you now this fic's ending is a conclusive one.

As for why I felt the need for a Valentines war declaration, I did it simply because I thought it was an ironic thing to do. It was not a reference to Gundam SEED in any way in case anyone thought so, although I suspect Sunrise had the same ironic aspect in mind with SEED's Bloody Valentine wars.

And why, someone has asked, did only Rivalz get the time of day with Lelouch last chapter? Well, I don't really have a good reason. But having Rivalz's short temper (call it OOC if you want, but I figure a close friend being mad when he learns his friend is a prince betraying his country is perfectly reasonable) conflicted by a calmness from Shirley or Milly would have ruined the mood I was trying to set for that scene. I admit it made it seem kind of unrealistic, but I could find no better way to write it. Don't worry, they get their time with Lelouch eventually.

Also, I had the same problem with the battle at the Geass Directorate that you guys mentioned – it was horribly fast paced and sloppy. That was my bad, and I really have no excuse. I was suffering from a lack or resolve for writing when I was pushing my way through that scene, that is all. I appologize for the poor quality, I really do, but once I had it all down I couldn't find a way to remedy the issue when I revised it later.

Now that all that is out of the way, we can try to get going with Chapter 18, Shifting the Pieces.

* * *

"General Carares!"

The general looked up from the papers he had been reading, his unkempt auburn hair flying this way and that with the motion. His bushy moustache settled on either side of his lips and seemed to merge with his long streaks of sideburns coming down either side of his face. His lips curled into a deep frown, expressing quite clearly just how displeased he was with being disturbed. "I dismissed you all several hours ago!" he snapped. He pointed down at the papers his left hand held and continued, "Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"But sir!" the soldier tried frantically, eyes wide with what could only be fear.

"... Yes?" Carares sighed as he rubbed at his temple absent-mindedly, his glare softening.

"The Anti-Britannian Front have arrived! Their forces have already captured Fukuoka and Nagasaki, and our forces garrisoned in the Saga and Kumamoto prefectures have taken heavy casualties in the initial conflict!"

Carares had been in the middle of taking a sip from his delicately small tea cup that was subsequently spat out when those words reached his ears, "We took precautions! The bulk of our forces were stationed at Fukuoka and Nagasaki! How?!"

"They sent out a small force of Gun-Ru-like Frames I've never seen before!" The soldier seemed quite shaken by the news, Carares noted with great disdain. As soon as his nerves were under control he continued, "They dealt severe damage before pulling back, and then we were ambushed at Fukuoka by their main force! Both prefectures were surrendered within the first hour of conflict, and unless we act fast the rest of the island will be under their control by the 'morrow."

With a low growl Carares stood, turning on his heel and leaving the room. The soldier was hot on his heels and awaiting orders that never came. When they reached the general's personal quarters the soldier waited patiently as Carares grabbed his phone from the desk in the far corner and dialed a number swiftly, shouting into it after a moment, "Get all troops ready to march within the hour! War has come and found us, boys."

o--o

"Commander, the Saga prefecture has fallen to Hong Gu's Han-Shu Mobile Forces, and they are requesting position to stop marching for some R&R and refueling."

Lelouch was nestled in the skies over the city of Kumamoto, watching with disturbed glee as the Sutherland and Burai below cut a bloody swath through a column of Sutherland from two sides. The remainder were made easy pickings for a shot from Lelouch's Hadron cannons, and then the troops continued on, entering the city where more screeching and explosions were heard for several minutes before yet another report came in stating that the city of Kumamoto had fallen.

Just five hours after their arrival and they had already struck a huge blow to Britannia.

At last he said, "Tell him permission granted, Nagisa," unable to keep the glee out of his voice. He slowly lowered the Gawain toward the city below, opening the hatch to the Gawain's cockpit and tending to the bothersome duty of replacing the battery. As he did so, he said into his headset, "All forces, push the attack and take control of your target, then buckle down! Their main force will be on its way soon."

The generic Edinburgh came to a stop next to the Gawain and Jeremiah climbed out, looking over at his commander with a sad smile, "Are you okay? This battle... is it taxing you?"

Lelouch shook his head, "I'm used to it, Jeremiah. You need not worry for my sake."

"If you insist. I am simply caring for your well-being," Jeremiah replied, the sad smile reversing into a frown.

Lelouch nodded before climbing into the cockpit, returning a moment later with a small briefcase. He opened it to reveal a chess board and all the pieces that he swiftly set on both sides before moving two Pawns and the King forward, "Their King is moving..." he trailed off as he grabbed three Pawns from the white side and slid them forward, followed by the white King. "The stage is set for the final battle in Kyushu. Jeremiah, go tell everyone they have two hours to rest. After that, they are to be in their Frames and ready for combat."

"Two hours, sir?"

"They won't be departing for another hour. After that they'll be here in little over an hour. Once everyone is ready in two hours, let me know."

Jeremiah nodded and retreated to the cockpit of his Edinburgh, pulling away from Lelouch before speeding off altogether. Lelouch smirked as he moved a Knight from it's starting place to a space in front of a Pawn, saying to himself, "Their commander here is inept, moving against us with his main force so carelessly. They outnumber us, but he should realize..." He grabbed the same Knight and moved it again to take an enemy Pawn without moving any of the white pieces, "He should realize that I defy the rules of war."

o--o

"So, Lelouch is attacking Area 11." Charles scowled down at V.V., his usual indifference lost in his displeasure with the young boy. "And you were _not_ aware he was taking such an action until he made it?"

Bowing in a show of humility, V.V. said quietly, "No. It was a simple matter to figure out, naturally, but we were caught off guard by his sudden move."

"So you didn't continue watching him as I asked you to. You lied to me, brother. And now we've lost the Directorate, and Lelouch has the element of surprise. Why must you lie?"

When V.V. said nothing, Charles continued, "Carares is an inept fool. With the element of surprise, Lelouch will have seized Kyushu in a day's time. And what of the ruins?"

"Lelouch would have adjusted his plans to target them if he knew about them. So long as the conflict isn't moved there, our plans will be safe," V.V. responded meekly, standing.

"See to it that Lelouch is kept away from those ruins. I care not what happens to Area 11, so long as those ruins are kept under our control. Make them your new base if you must, but do not allow Lelouch to find it."

With a nod, V.V. said, "Of course. I will take all the necessary precautions." He made to leave but turned to look over his shoulder, adding, "Watching Lelouch is no longer necessary?"

Charles shook his head, "He has taken his fight to the next stage. We need only make sure he doesn't discover more than he needs to."

"And what of C.C.?"

"It seems she's far too attached to the boy. Even if we got her, she wouldn't allow me to do Lelouch's job. She is of no consequence to us any longer."

"Then I shall go," and with that, V.V. left. Charles heaved a sigh as he relaxed into his seat, cradling his head.

"Is letting him run around so freely still wise, Your Majesty?"

Charles smirked toward the shadows where a tall man revealed himself, a similar smirk playing on his lips. His shoulders were as broad as the Emperor's himself and his face was weary with age, a grey goatee serving as a testament to his age. Long purple hair that lost nearly all its brilliance into a dull gray cascaded down the sides of his face and settled on his shoulders, falling over his face and covering his left eyes.

Charles replied with a chuckle, "Let him do as he pleases, Bismarck. His carelessness won't hinder us anymore."

Bismarck laughed in kind, saying, "And what of your son? If V.V. fails he will find the Kaminejima ruins. Is leaving the defense to him wise? Shouldn't you send someone more capable?"

Charles shrugged, "It isn't necessary. But if you so insist, you may go as well."

Bismarck shook his head, bowing low, "If His Majesty says it isn't necessary, then I shall trust your word."

Charles nodded, "In that case, get the vampire for me. I have need of his services."

"For what, if you don't mind me asking, Your Majesty?"

"It seems one of my sons needs to be taught a lesson and be reminded the folly in plotting against the crown."

o--o

"Its the Black Prince! Lord Lelouch has arrived!"

"The Black Prince is here?!"

"Long live Prince Lelouch!"

The people of Kunamoto – a mix of Elevens and Britannians - were ecstatic as soon as they noticed the Gawain. People surrounded the Frame on all sides and cried out to their savior with such enthusiasm that Lelouch wouldn't have been able to imagine were he not seeing it himself. He, a prince of the Britannian empire, was being hailed as a savior. Even if he was leading the army that carried the hope of the Japanese, seeing the people accepting him was leaps and bounds above what he could have imagined.

Lelouch had been safely within the confines of the Gawain plotting out his current strategies – which had been a resounding success thus far – when the people had surrounded the Gawain crying out in complete overwhelming ecstasy. He put his mask on and opened the hatch to his cockpit, climbing out into the throng of the public's cries of joy. He smiled despite the minor annoyance the sheer volume provided, calling down to them simply, "Long live Japan!"

Their cries dissolved into one unified shout of, "Long live Japan!" Lelouch smiled and nodded, remaining silent from then on and allowing them to call out to him. He didn't respond to any of it, leaving them content simply in the presence of their savior. The man who had finally returned to his country – his home, as far as he was concerned – to save it from the empire he swore to defeat.

After a time, with one more cry of, "Long live Japan!" he allowed them to finally disperse and go about their own business.

"Lelouch," Ogi said suddenly through the headset Lelouch had forgotten he still wore. "There is a massive army just over the ridge. At least seventy of them."

"Thank you Ogi. Keep me informed." Lelouch pulled his mask off and sighed contently as he slid down into the Gawain's cockpit, closing the hatch and thrusting his activation key into the large Frame. It hummed to life and he smirked as he read the status reports on its performane; no damage had been sustained despite the amount of fighting it had been involved in. In fact the only mishap it had at all had been a brief shutdown of its cannons after continued use of them had resulted in an overheat.

"Jeremiah," Lelouch called.

Jeremiah responded respectfully, "Yes, sir?"

"The troops have returned, have they not?"

"They have. Shall they be ready to sortie?"

"Yes, see to it please."

"Of course."

"And Jeremiah?" Lelouch's voice softened as he said his loyal servant's name.

"Yes?"

Lelouch smiled – not to himself, although Jeremiah couldn't see the smile, "... Thank you. For everything."

"I'm merely doing the job I swore to do."

"Your job was to protect Nunnally and myself, Jeremiah. You've been a friend when I have few left. Without you, I'd..."

"Sir?"

"No, its nothing." For a reason Lelouch couldn't quite discern, he felt tears stinging his eyes. He blinked furiously, forcing back the bitter laugh that found itself joining him in his melancholy, and said, "Its foolish to say this before a battle, I know, but... Don't die, Jeremiah."

"I wouldn't dream of it," and Lelouch could almost see Jeremiah's proud smirk as he said that.

"I'm glad." Lelouch checked the radar in front of him for several long moments before he nodded to himself, satisfied, "Jeremiah, how many men do we have here?"

"One thousand, and we have one hundred and twelve operational Frames. The soldiers not ready to sortie are aiding in the reconstruction."

"Leave me with thirty. Take the rest and move around to the east side of the ridge. Wait until they've passed by and then attack from the side," Lelouch ordered, lifting the Gawain slowly into the sky. The ground slowly faded away beneath him and, true to Ogi's word, a massive army of Knightmare Frames with a G-1 base trailing behind could be seen in the distance. The numbers looked far more imposing at this moment than in the numbers in reports, Lelouch noted.

"But with only thirty... Are you sure...?" Jeremiah tried, worry evident in his voice.

"I have the Gawain. And once you arrive, the battle will end." And then for good measure, because it always worked, he added, "I haven't let you down before have I?"

Jeremiah sighed, defeated, "Of course you haven't."

"Then see to the preparations I requested."

Jeremiah nodded to himself as he retreated into silence, speeding off toward the center of town where everyone had gathered. Lelouch groaned deeply and cradled his head in his hand, watching the enemy lines intently for any change – with an inept commander, the possibility that they may make a sudden change is always there. His observations were cut short however, when Ogi said, "Our forces have engaged in battle with separate divisions of the enemy main force, Lelouch."

"They are focusing on so many fronts?" Lelouch questioned, chuckling.

"For good reason," Ogi responded grimly. "Todo and Xingke are buckled down in Myazaki and Oita, and they are struggling from two-to-one odds."

Lelouch took the report in stride, "Dispatch Tamaki's unit from the Hogosha and send him to Todo's aid, and tell Suzaku to move to Xingke's aid. Tell them to hold their positions and not to press the attack; Their commander is with the column here at Kunamoto. Once he falls, the rest will be easy pickings."

Lelouch cut Ogi off and urged himself forward, checking his radar from the corner of his eye to confirm that he had his men following close behind. And sure enough there was a large group heading off to the right, well out of the range of the enemy. "Everyone, stand strong here. We need only hold out until Jeremiah makes his move; once he strikes, the rest will fall!"

o--o

Oita was a difficult place to do battle in. Time had turned the region into little more than a mountainous wasteland, to the point that Britannians hadn't bothered to colonize it. In that respect it was an ideal location to hold on to, given its strategical advantages for the defending side and the fact that it was safe from Britannia's corruption of the army's homeland. An ideal home is usually a hard one to defend, and that fact was proving more than true as even Suzaku found himself in trouble.

The newly completed Lancelot Kosui was a blessing on the battlefield – Britannians had already given it the title of the Corrupted Knightmare due to the far more hellish appearance it had compared to the Earl Lloyd's first work. Suzaku wasn't sure whether or not to be insulted by that but his Frame's improvements made it more than capable of taking out anything that targeted it exclusively, so whatever title they gave him mattered not to him.

"Suzaku, Kumamoto has become a bloodbath. We should wrap up here quickly so we can go to Lelouch's aid. I fear his tactics won't turn the tide enough to avoid heavy casualties to his side as well," Xingke said, his own Frame hanging overhead, attacking from time to time as it oversaw the rest of the battle.

Suzaku grunted in acknowledgement, flipping over two Sutherland and taking both out with a single stroke of his MVS. He whipped around and slashed again to take out another before charging backwards, using the momentum to take himself up into the air where he replaced his MVS with the cannon attached to his back, firing down at the Britannian lines with a massive burst of Hadron energy. While not as destructive as the Gawain's Hadron technology it more than did its job, taking out an entire line of eight Sutherland at once. A blast from the Baryon cannon followed, taking out another line of Sutherland before Suzaku descended to the ground, taking out both his MVS and attacking once again.

The battle, despite all their struggling, was a one-sided affair in favor of Xingke and his forces. The plains made for an open-ended massacre while the mountains around them made the battlefield closed off at the same time, restricting their mobility to advancing or retreating. And with the Lancelot pushing the attack from the ground while the Shen-Hu took the attack from the air, the Britannian forces in the area were quickly finding themselves retreating with all haste, taking more and more casualties as they went.

Suzaku took off into the air and moved over to the other side, cutting off their retreat by firmly taking his place in front of them. The retreating Britannian lines came to a sudden halt and both sides took to staring each other down for a few long moments before Suzaku spurred into action, slashing and weaving his way through their lines carelessly, inadvertently resulting in many cases of friendly fire when they tried to hit him and he dodged. The damage done was tremendous in a short amount of time and Xingke's forces coming up from behind finished the rout, leaving the forces remaining a scattered mess as they finally broke free of the mountains and fled in all directions. Many gave up such an endeavor quickly, instead laying down their arms and surrendering.

"Suzaku, we're done here. I'm taking my troops back to the base to rest up. Go to Lelouch's aid for now," Xingke ordered, turning around with his troops and their new captives to retreat back into the mountains. Suzaku nodded to himself and checked his battery – still over two hours, thanks to Xingke giving him a fresh battery before he deployed into that battle. Taking off into the air he quickly plotted out the route that would safely bring him to Lelouch's side, gasping as he saw the situation.

The Britannian lines had been broken in two by what seemed to be the majority of Lelouch's forces attacking from behind, one half attacking those troops while the other half attacked the other group of Lelouch's forces. The main force was putting up a tough fight but the smaller one seemed to be struggling, though he was still too far away to get visual confirmation on the situation.

"What are you doing, Lelouch? You're getting sloppy."

o--o

Lelouch scorched the land below him with the Hadron cannons, careless of what happened to the earth itself. He was beyond any form of restraint – how _dare_ Britannia suggest that his tactics weren't enough to overcome sheer numbers! Okay, so he had been taken by surprise when a sudden dispatch launched over fifty units he had thought were in Oita, adding insult to injury when Jeremiah's attack from behind failed to do more than put a small dent in their forces. Only the Gawain now kept the entire army from collapsing, and Lelouch knew it.

"Jeremiah, break through and join with the main force! A strong defense will be necessary here – I'll watch your back!" After getting the affirmative from Jeremiah, Lelouch charged forward and released yet another stream of destruction from his Hadron cannons along the Britannian lines – he weaved in all directions as he fired, doing damage to all parts of their force without any real rhythm. The damage left small groups of their forces cut off from other groups which allowed Jeremiah to charge through easily enough, flipping over several Sutherland and firing downward, the shot from his rifle exploding on impact much like a shot from a Raikou, scattering in several directions and hitting other Frames. Between that, his second attack using his two MVS and the mass of Sutherland and Burai following behnd him, it wasn't long before he managed to break through.

"Lelouch, we have more forces coming toward you from Myazaki – Todo's forces are close behind." Lelouch payed little attention to Ogi's words, instead being far too preoccupied with taking his bitter rage out on the Britannian forces trying to break through his forces below him. The words only began to really sink in as a massive line of signals appeared on the edge of his radar, showing him the grim reality of the odds he faced.

"How far off is Todo?"

"He should be there shortly."

"Tell him to take his time – he won't be needed."

Lelouch nodded to himself convincingly before descending toward the newcomers, ordering Jeremiah to hold his position. The large front came to a stop as the Gawain blocked the way, standing firmly in place towering over them. As they prepared their rifles to open fire he fired his cannons, sending long streams from side to side, tearing through the Sutherland caught by them. The rest charged forward, trying their best to dodge the long streams as they fought to get around him. With a frustrated groan Lelouch launched himself into the air again, avoiding their attempts to attack him from behind.

Tactics seemed to be a failing factor, much to Lelouch's displeasure, but he was willing to play a different game if that was what they wanted – his oh so destructive Hadron cannons were more than willing to play that game, at any rate. The Britannian forces had pushed their way into his lines unfortunately, but that gave him the opportunity to make a 'best of both worlds' scenario – he came in from behind and unleashed the full extent of his cannons again, destroy any Sutherland not already within his own lines. Soon all that was left were those now stuck inside the enemy formation, and the G-1 base that Lelouch had noticed was trying to flee. Evidently their attempts to overwhelm with sheer numbers hadn't accounted for the possibility of Lelouch adapting.

"Sir, the enemy is trying to retreat, and most of them have surrendered. What shall we do?" Jeremiah's voice broke Lelouch from his thoughts.

"Keep them with us for now. We'll deal with all the prisoners once we're done."

"Yes, Your High... I mean Sir."

o--o

_Kyushu became the first official victory in the war between the Empire of China and Britannia. Despite being a chinese army in name the Japanese welcomed us with open arms, expressing their firm desire to see Britannia removed from Japan. Britannians either accepted our rule or escaped the island, and those that remained were in complete support of our occupation. Our victory sparked a wave of rebellions across Japan and Britannia was forced to divide its forces to tend to the many uprisings._

_Our own force continued on, liberating the Shikoku region on our march toward Tokyo, where the fate of the entire country would be decided. Despite our successes and growing numbers – in the form of many of the uprising forces joining up with us as we passed through their areas – Britannia continued to fight us with no more than the standing defenses Cornelia had deployed prior to the war's start, leaving the majority of their resources and supplies in the Tokyo Settlement._

_The battle for control of the Kyoto area was a fierce one. Attacking from land and sea we overwhelmed the defenses Britannia had placed, but careful placement of siege defense weaponry in the massive fortress made for a rough battle. Victory ended up being a fickle thing as both sides took tremendous losses in their bid for victory. We won in the end and made the former capital of Japan the base of operations in our invasion._

_It was the fight after taking Kyoto that was to be a harsh one._

o--o

The Gifu Settlement. A natural fortress as much as a physical fortress, it acted as a false testament to Britannia's ideals. Where Britannia focused on continued evolution, the Gifu Settlement lived in the past as a fortress that carried the belief from many years ago that said, "Control Gifu and you control Japan." Lelouch held this belief closely to his heart as he sat in the command center of the Hogosha, head cradled in his hand as he watched the battle for control of the massive fortress unfold.

The battle – unlike the battle for Kyoto – was a one-sided affair. As strong as the defenses were they were not prepared for attacks from the air, subsequently resulting in a devastating result when Karen and Suzaku attacked from the air, with Todo directing the attack from the ground and Xingke directing a naval attack through the many bays and rivers that connected the Pacific to the Nagara river. Britannia's defenses were overwhelmed and decimated before the growing EoC army, attacked from the three places and leaving their forces in scattered messes throughout the settlement.

"Lelouch," C.C.'s voice broke through the calm in Lelouch's mind as she sat down next to him, more distantly than usual, looking at him with worry written over her face as she looked at the black mask of the partner she'd come to care for. "You're letting your emotions get to you. Relax."

"This war has taken more from me than I expected, C.C.," Lelouch replied, distant. "All I can do now is make sure my sacrifices aren't for nothing – losing isn't an option in this war."

"Is this because your friends have abandoned you?" she asked incredulously, gawking at him.

"No. Well, not that directly." Lelouch sighed, looking at Ogi who was pretending to be engrossed in his work, but was clearly listening. Lelouch continued, "This world has taken everything from me – both my friends and my home – and all I can do is fight on. For me, there is no other option."

"You could try to get your friends to understand," Ogi put in, shrugging. Lelouch glowered at him.

"Tell Suzaku to aim for the government offices; if we take that out, this battle if over."

"... Of course. And Karen?"

Lelouch was glad to no longer be the subject at hand, "Wipe out the power supply in the northeast – their forces will be forced to kneel if they lose that as well."

Many moments passed in silence – C.C. adopted a silent observation of her partner while Lelouch continued to ignore her presence entirely; Ogi relayed orders to the people on the ground quickly before shifting over to another space, reading various things on screens and taking mental notes of what he was seeing before shifting back to his original place, saying a few other things to the people on the receiving end before repeating the process.

Being one of the only people aboard the Hogosha during a large battle was a sad fate indeed.

"Say, Lelouch..." Ogi started randomly, his voice distant. "Weren't Britannia's resources being used almost exclusively by Schneizel?"

Lelouch nodded, "That is right."

"Well there are reinforcements coming from across the Pacific. Visuals are showing five airships of unknown class."

Lelouch walked over to the where Ogi was seated and lowered his head over Ogi's shoulder to get a better look; sure enough, there was visual confirmation of five bleach white ships that appeared to be smaller variations of the Avalon, the night sky hanging behind them and the sea below them. As soon as he'd regained his voice, Lelouch asked the only question he could think of at that moment, "Any estimation on the numbers?"

"None whatsoever."

With a sigh, Lelouch took to assessing the situation closely – the ships were no more than one hundred feet from front to back, with a single long barreled cannon beneath the head, identical to the Avalon. On each wing were countless amounts of missile launchers that appeared to be armed, although that was the extent of their offensive weaponry. A single linear catapult was beneath the right wing.

"Think we should retreat, Lelouch?" Ogi asked, tilting his head to the side to look at his commander from the corner of his eye.

"No," Lelouch said at last, definitively. "C.C., get ready to launch. Ogi, tell Karen to be ready – We'll go hold these ships at bay."

o--o

Dull blue eyes watched the happenings before them with what appeared to be no interest whatsoever. To say these eyes showed any emotion would be a complete lie – these were the eyes of someone who'd been so undone that they no longer showed any care for the world. And such a person was exactly who those eyes belonged to.

The rest of the person's appearance was a direct contrast to those lifeless eyes. Silky blond hair fell on all sides of a well shaped face, curled at the ends in a fashion befitting Britannian nobility, even if the Emperor was one of few in the Imperial Family who still used such a style. A purple robe covered the man from head to toe with a collar covering the neck, giving off a regal appearance that radiated authority to all that stood in the person's presence.

"Your Highness, Gifu is in our sights. Your orders?" A soldier bowed low before the man, hiding his face. His short black hair stuck to his face with sweat and his jaw quivered with fear simply from being in the man's presence. But he wouldn't give him the satisfaction – if there was such a thing in the lifeless leader – of seeing his fear.

In an authoritive tone the man replied, "Deploy all forces immediately. Wipe them all out – friend or foe, I care not."

The soldier nodded meekly and scurried out of the man's presence, shouting over his shoulder, "At once, Prince Clovis!"

"Your Highness," a man with orange hair tinged with flaming red streaks bowed briefly before Clovis, a smirk playing at his lips. A white uniform with golden embroidery covered his entire body, and black gloves covered his hands while black boots similarly covered his feet. "I would like to launch as well."

Clovis nodded at once, "Of course, Luciano. Do not fail me."

Luciano nodded in kind and left the room, leaving Clovis alone in his thoughts. When everyone was gone his indifferent expression was replaced with one of complete disdain as he said to himself, "This is retribution for all you have done, brother. Retribution for the pain you caused me – I will make you pay."

* * *

And thus Clovis makes his return, and horribly OOC! What does this mean? Well, naturally I know... but that isn't the point. Anyway, this is shorter than usual, but that is okay I think. As with my Fire Emblem fic the next chapter may be delayed because of school starting next Wednesday – we'll find out how that goes by the end of the week.


	19. Fall From Grace

Its been a long time since chapter one, but I'm about ready for some more Lelouch/Clovis-centric goodness – I hope you all are too, because that is largely all there will be this chapter. Hopefully people liked the prospect of their relationship when it was introduced back at the beginning, because that was done solely for this reason here. Yes Clovis got minimal focus between these two points, but that is perfectly okay. And it is because of that that I feel no worry in giving an entire chapter entirely to him. I can't say how long this chapter will be – I have plotted out the beginning and the end but next to nothing in between – but expect it to be good... I hope.

And with the introduction of Lelouch's evolved Geass in episode 21, I'm exceptionally delighted to know that it wasn't done in such a way that removes all logic from my way of doing it – that has been a constant worry since I started. That is, making decisions that are made illogical by revelations from the anime. I've avoided such a fate so far, and I hope to continue to do so – should I fail this will simply become an AU excluding those realities. I mean, lets face it; this fic is way too far in to recover from any such mistakes anyway. Hope nobody will be bothered by that – on the upside, I've been lucky enough so far and my fic has no huge revelations on the way this chapter, so we'll hopefully continue to avoid this fate. And with my fic being delayed by school, odds are R2 will have ended before we come to a point where this is a major issue.

Let us hope, anyway.

* * *

"Grand Commander of the Empire of China, Lelouch Lamperouge." Lelouch froze as he heard the icy tone of a voice he could recognize immediately – the voice of his brother, Clovis La Britannia, his voice carrying such a disdain that if Lelouch had any reason to believe it wasn't him – he desperately wished he did – he would have jumped at the opportunity to cling to that reason. The voice reminded him of the voice he once carried, the voice of someone driven only by hatred and malice.

The voice that only a side of him he'd long since discarded had. A side he was slowly resurrecting. A side that the very man who now addressed him had convinced him to discard – that fact alone pained Lelouch beyond words. And try as he might, he couldn't block out the icy tone his brother took as he continued, "I am Chancellor Clovis La Britannia. By my authority as the new overseer of Area 11, I demand that you cease all acts of aggression in my land before I am forced to resort to force. You have ten minutes to give me your answer; if you fail to do so, I will respond accordingly."

Hot tears stung Lelouch's eyes as he clenched them shut, "But brother, I..."

"Lelouch?" It was Ogi.

"A-a-ah, Ogi..." he couldn't hide the sadness in his voice as he spoke. "Give the order to retreat, now..."

"Hmm?"

"The r-reinforcements..." he choked for a moment as the tears began to flow. "We can't fight them as well... tell Tamaki to make sure our back is safe on the way back to Kyoto."

Ogi was not convinced in the least that the amount of reinforcements was the problem – in fact, he knew that was not the issue at hand, though he didn't press the issue. "... Of course," he spoke hesitantly, but he didn't disobey – Lelouch wouldn't put his personal problem first, would he?

Twenty minutes later when Lelouch walked into the command center, mask in place, he found an intervention-like scenario waiting for him. A circle composing of his highest ranked people – Xingke, Todo, Ogi, Suzaku, Karen, C.C., Tamaki, the Shisei-ken, and Jeremiah – was before him, an empty seat between Suzaku and C.C. empty and with his name on it... literally. Hesitantly he took this seat, eyeing all of the members of the circle intently for any betrayal of emotion that would tell him what they thought – they must have learned from him well, because he saw no such betrayal in their eyes.

"Why did we retreat, Lelouch?" Xingke started, frowning. "Even with their reinforcements, we..."

"We would have won, I know," Lelouch finished monotonously. "Victory and defeat mean nothing in this situation."

Todo glared at Lelouch as he said, "Area 11 is still in Britannia's hands. Until we take the Tokyo Settlement, our actions are little more than disturbances to them. Why would victory and defeat be irrelevant now, of all times?"

"Does victory matter when you have to fight family?!" Lelouch cried out, standing. "Suzaku, would you be able to fight your father?! Would you be able to fight Kaguya?! Would you be able to kill your family without remorse?!"

Suzaku flinched and tears began to sting his eyes, but he kept them at bay. "Lelouch, you fought Schneizel... you fought Cornelia... you even fought Clovis --"

"-- I fought him to protect him! Now he is in charge of Area 11, trying to kill me, and you expect me to fight?! Don't screw with me!" he slumped back into his seat, never having felt more glad to have a mask separating his emotions from those around him as tears found their way down his cheeks once again. "I can't kill Clovis... even when he..."

"When he... what?" Ogi pressed, confused.

"Clovis and I, we..." Lelouch removed his mask and closed his eyes, letting his head drop. "We have always been close. As close as Nunnally and I. Now he wants to kill me." Surprise was evident as people saw tears fall from his eyes and to the waiting ground below, Lelouch making no attempt to hide his sorrow. "I don't know why... I..."

"Geass?" Xingke tried, raising an eyebrow.

Something clicked in Lelouch's head at that moment; could it have been Geass? Could his father – or someone else in Britannia – have the power to do this to Clovis? Turn him into the hate driven man Lelouch had spoken to – or rather, listened to – out there? Clovis had always adored Lelouch, so it was likely... "That may be it," Lelouch said at last, his resolve building. He lifted his head, eyes closed still as a safety insurrance to hide those around him from his Geass, "There is only one way to find out."

"There is?"

"We have prisoners that can help," and Lelouch's smirk returned full force before it was once again covered by a mask.

o--o

"Why is Lelouch attacking?! Doesn't he love us?! Father?!" Cornelia reached over from her throne to the smaller seat next to it and tightly hugged a clearly hysterical Euphemia, comfortingly rubbing the back of her head. As Euphemia continued to weep Cornelia slowly brought her little sister into her lap, snuggling Euphemia against her chest as she continued to pour hot tears onto Cornelia's shoulder. The long pink strands of her hair were strewn all about without any attempt to brush them, some strands matted to her face by the tears soaking her cheeks. She looked like an absolute wreck in Cornelia's opinion – granted, Euphemia, like Cornelia herself, wasn't a fashion obsessed person by any means. But like anyone, she did take pride in looking presentable.

"Lelouch has chosen his path, Euphie..." Cornelia lifted Euphemia's head so their eyes met, continuing, "He loves you very much. I don't know why he's fighting us, but it isn't your fault. We'll find out someday, alright?"

Sniffling, Euphemia nodded, though she went on, "B-but what if he does hate us? What if he thinks that we are his enemies?"

"Euphie, think about it," Cornelia started, placing a small kiss on Euphemia's forehead. "When you found him, he was already Zero. Even then he cared for you, right?"

"W-well yes, but..."

"But nothing. He's fighting for what he believes is right – whatever that is – and not because he hates us, okay?"

Any further argument was cut off by the doors at the far end of the large chamber opening loudly and several soldiers rushing in, announcing, "Now presenting the Chancellor, His Royal Highness, Clovis La Britannia!"

As Euphemia returned to her seat Cornelia looked over at her with a forlorn look, saying, "Now him, on the other hand..."

Clovis walked briskly into the room, a black cape flowing behind him. His eyes sent a chill down Cornelia's spine as she stared into them, rendering her completely silent until he was standing in front of her, smirking as he bowed mockingly, "It has been a while, sisters."

"What business do you have here, Clovis?"

"Father has decided that the defense of Area 11 is beyond your capabilities and that the battle against Lelouch is one that requires complete competence – which is something that he does not believe you have," Clovis replied, almost too happily Cornelia had to note.

"And how does that require the presence of the Chancellor? I would have thought you were busy elsewhere," Cornelia shot back snidely, smirking despite the surprising nervousness she felt creeping up simply from being in the presence of Clovis.

"Schneizel is dealing with the EU; the only other foe requiring our immediate attention is the EoC, and you are unfit to deal with them. And so by my authority as the Chancellor I will be hereby taking control of all armed forces in Area 11."

Euphemia jumped up from her seat and cried, "Thats insane! Sister has been nothing but fair to Area 11, and her decisions in the war thus far have resulted in minimal casualties! You can't just oust her from her position because she hasn't yet stopped them!"

"Restrain her," any further remarks from Euphemia were cut short as Clovis said those two words, gesturing toward her with one arm and beckoning two soldiers to carry out the deed. Cornelia looked ready to jump up and stop it at any moment, but a single look from Clovis stayed her hand, "I will not repeat myself, Cornelia. With the exception of the Royal Knights, I have the authority to do as I please here and I will do so. And so, I believe I'll be taking back my Governorship now, sister."

Cornelia growled under her breath as she stood up, stepping to the side and allowing Clovis to take her seat. As he sat, she said, "I'll be taking my Royal Knights. We will not be assisting you as you are."

"And so you would deny me if I were to humbly ask that you come with me to wipe out Lelouch?" Clovis asked, smirking.

"You'd actually try to outsmart him? He is leaps and bounds above how strong he was when you two last fought. He truly has made miracles."

"Father has given me command over the Knights of Rounds at the moment. I have the Knight of Ten with me right now, and as smart as he is Lelouch will not be expecting them to join a battle of this scale."

Breaking out of her momentary shock, Cornelia said, "If we take the initiative, Lelouch will be on his guard for any irregularities – he may overlook things at times, but he's a paranoid person at heart." When all Clovis did was not, she went on, "How do you plan to draw him out?"

"Mt. Fuji," Clovis replied, grinning maliciously.

o--o

"Lord V.V., what shall we do now? Protecting this Thought Elevator is..."

"Yes," V.V. replied immediately, frowning. "It is Charles telling us that he no longer trusts me. That my use in his plan is nearly gone."

The old man next to him nodded in agreement, "Then what shall we do? If Lelouch finds this place, we will have nowhere to run."

His cape waving out behind him, V.V. turned about and stared at the door before him – yet another door holding the sigil of Geass on it – and retreated into the deep recesses of his mind for a moment. What would they do? His brother's world without lies had become their life; nothing else mattered to them. But if it had come to the point where he would be tossed aside once his part was done, what was V.V. to do? That answer, he thought, was simple. "We will look for another to carry out this task. A new way to create our ideal world. We will find a new Charles."

The logic was simple enough, really. But finding another Charles? That was a task that was much easier said than done, simply put. Charles was one in a million – brilliant, authoritative, a convincing leader... Charles was the ideal king the world needed. There was only one other like that, and... the old man shivered at the very thought. Noticing this, V.V. said, "Yes, there is only one who can take Charles' place in this world of lies, and only one that can take his place into making one without lies.

"Lelouch."

"There is no other," V.V. didn't seem nearly as displeased as one would have thought. In fact, the notion of working with Lelouch seemed to be... something V.V. was eager to do?

It must have been his imagination, the old man decided. There was no way V.V. would be considering the merits of such an idea... right?

"That aside, Lord V.V., what shall we do here? Even if we were to work with..." A groan cut him off, "Lelouch... the fact remains that he is our enemy at the moment. Even if he finds this place, he cannot be allowed to breach it! What would you have us do?"

A sigh, "Set up another mind trap. That should halt him long enough for us to escape if the time comes."

"We wouldn't defend this place?! Why not?"

With a smirk, V.V. said, "We aren't because Charles wants us to."

As V.V. walked away to do... well, do whatever V.V. did alone - not even his closest allies knew - the old man turned to look at the rest of the surviving Directorate members standing nearby, giving them a blank look. They seemed to understand as they all snapped to attention, rushing over to him and saluting in a very soldier-like fashion. "I hope you know what we have to do," he remarked, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Yes, Lord Bertram," they all replied in a rehearsed unison.

Nodding, Bertram paced in front of them, saying, "Lord V.V. has always put the plan first. He has always been resolute in his decisions because they were beneficial to the plan. But Lord V.V. no longer cares for the plan. That being the case, what we need to do is make sure the plan is still our priority."

"Of course, Lord Bertram."

"For the new world," Bertram said dramatically.

"For the new world!" the rest of them echoed.

o--o

Villeta and Kewell were just _finally_ growing annoyed of the restraints that had been placed on their wrists and ankles so long ago when Lelouch entered their cell, smoothly bringing down the barred wall that divided the two sides of the cell each were on – yet another testament to Lelouch's paranoia. They both looked up at him in wonder and he looked down at their seated forms one after the other with a smirk. The silence was just about the most unbearable thing either had faced – and they had faced many things in their nearly thirty years of life – but both were determined to hold back any words, unwilling to give Lelouch the satisfaction of beating them in this game of silence. If he was playing to begin with, that is. Neither Villeta nor Kewell were entirely sure.

Finding himself losing this game that he was indeed playing, Lelouch avoided their gazes as he looked around the cell, his eyes glazing over with a sadness he was determined to not let them see. The walls were bland and without any decoration to speak of – not that a cell should have any, Lelouch noted off-handedly. The only thing of any real variation were the beds both sides were provided with; a small bed roughly half of a Queen size bed with pitch black sheets that actually looked comfortable, all things considered. Villeta sat on her respective bed as she noticed Lelouch's gaze on it, and Lelouch couldn't help but change his opinion when he heard the loud screeching of the springs beneath Villeta. Clearly, India hadn't had prisoner comfort in mind – not that Lelouch was complaining.

Finally having her patience wearing thin, Villeta asked, "Why are you here?"

"To talk," Lelouch replied nonchalantly, shrugging.

Kewell shuffled as best he could with the restraints around his ankles until he settled onto the bed next to Villeta, looking up at Lelouch, "About?" he asked irritably.

"Reconsider your decision to join us."

Kewell laughed bitterly, "All hail Britannia!" he recited jovially, giving Lelouch a look that clearly said that was where his loyalties were.

Villeta nodded as she too said, "All hail Britannia," although with considerably less emotion.

That remark alone told Lelouch he'd have to resort to Plan B – a plan he was absolutely dreading, to boot. It was one of those things he couldn't help hating, no matter what the end result was. And little as he liked to admit it, even the prospect of Clovis being saved didn't make him feel better about the possibility. And that was why he couldn't help scowling as he bowed before Villeta and Kewell, begging pitifully, "Please, save Clovis. You are the only ones who can do so."

"... Save Clovis?" Villeta repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"The Emperor has a Geass that has turned Clovis into a cold hearted man bent on my death," Lelouch clarified, tears stinging his eyes as he recalled Clovis' attitude before he had retreated. "He is not the caring brother he once was. The Emperor has forsaken his own son in favor of a machine he can use against me because he knows that I care for Clovis." Raising his head enough to see the stunned expressions on their faces he continued, tears pouring freely, "So please! You can hate me! You can want to kill me! You can go back to Britannia and my father when you are done – anything! But please, save Clovis!"

"Save Clovis..." Villeta seemed to ponder the idea for a long moment, much to the shock of Kewell. "Even if your father has Geass, you have it as well – you are no better than your father, Lelouch."

"I don't care!" Lelouch snapped as he glared up at Villeta. Taken by surprise she jumped to her feat, almost fearing the feral look in Lelouch's Geass-infused eyes at that moment. Unnoticing or simply uncaring of this Lelouch went on, "Make me out to be a demon. Make me out to be some insult to humanity, if it makes you happy. If you save Clovis, I don't care – I will accept it all!" His eyes grew wide as the tears streaming down his cheeks turned into rivers of flowing tears, shocking Villeta further still, "No matter what! No matter what it takes, I will do it! But _please_ save Clovis!"

Kewell watched on in some reasonable amount of shock, glad they had been taught to make it second nature to keep their Canceller and Neutralizer active when in Lelouch's presence – he would have been under quite a few orders were that not the case, Kewell was sure. But since that was hardly a thought to dwell on, his thoughts instead went on to more important matters – such as the prideful and arrogant Lelouch bowing before them, begging them to save his brother. "I can relate..." Kewell muttered under his breath, understanding Lelouch's plight perfectly. Nodding as a means of getting his nerves under control, Kewell said, "I will do it."

"Kewell?!" Villeta gasped out, turning on her ally – or former ally now, she wasn't sure. "Are you mad?! Help _him_?!"

Kewell countered by saying, "We are loyal to Britannia, Villeta, but the Emperor is not. That much is clear now."

"Even so..."

"Lelouch is not evil, that much is certain," Kewell stated simply, frowning. Behind Villeta Lelouch was slowly standing with an all too grateful smile on his face, but Kewell ignored it, "He – like us – has chosen his path. I too thought that because his path was not one that benefited Britannia, he was evil. But if our Emperor is doing things like this, is it wrong of us to make the same decision? Even though it may be under a different name, Lelouch could recreate Britannia. He could make a new world – one we would be honored to serve."

"Such things do not matter to soldiers!" Villeta snapped, glaring at Kewell. "We carry out our orders to the best of our ability, and that is all."

"We carry out our orders because they are beneficial to our country. But what use is that when we are no longer sure that what we are doing is truly our own will?" Kewell shot back.

"I..."

"We should join Lelouch and save His Highness. After that, we can decide what we will do," Kewell stated, in such a way that it was immediately clear that there was to be no argument. Villeta seemed to get the idea quickly and she slowly nodded her agreement.

"I thank you both," Lelouch bowed – this time without dropping to his knees – and smiled almost unnaturally happily at the both of them. "If we can save Clovis, then I..."

"Shhh," Villeta held a hand up, shaking her head. "I am doing this for His Highness, not for you, Lelouch."

"Of course."

o--o

_With new resolve and reinforced troops, we began our march through Gifu and on toward the Tokyo Settlement. There was no visible discontent to the revelation of more Britannians joining the army, and Villeta and Kewell were even welcomed with open arms by the Anti-Britannian Front because of their loyalty to me. I caught Karen giving them a few dirty looks from time to time, but that was to be expected from someone who had spent the most of their life either fighting or simply hating Britannia and I think even they realized that. Karen warmed up to them quickly enough however, though it remains a mystery how they won her over – I'm not sure I care to know._

_The knowledge that we were going to be facing off against Clovis weighed heavily on everyone who knew my relationship with him. Day after day it became commonplace for me to be greeted by many sending their regards to me for the tough situation I was faced with. I was determined not to let it get to me, but it was hard – Clovis and I were as close as Nunnally and I. While Nunnally was my lifeline to an extent, Clovis was my resolve. It was because of them that I started my rebellion, and now I was to face one of the people I relied on most. It was painful no matter how sure I was that he could be saved._

_The army abandoned its attack on Gifu – mainly due to the fact that Clovis had pulled back all forces stationed there – and continued on. The Tokyo Settlement was mere minutes away when a news report sent news of the Third Prince leading troops to Mt. Fuji for some kind of memorial service. Naturally a memorial service in wartime – so near the battlefield at that – is absurd and it was a trap, but Clovis was challenging me. Daring me to come and steal away Britannia's Sakuradite resources. And I would take that challenge, because it meant saving Clovis with a justifiable reason. And so, on March 8th, 2018 a.t.b. the Empire of China began its operation to seize control of one the world's largest Sakuradite resource._

o--o

"Britannian forces in the Mt. Fuji area consist of six airships and three hundred units, all Sutherland. The battle is our's the moment we launch."

"But the commander is against any action that will endanger the life of the enemy commander. This won't be as easy as it seems."

"Lelouch isn't like that! He will do what he has to do."

Lelouch groaned as he slumped back in the Gawain's cockpit, sending it into silence with the flick of a switch – he hardly wanted to hear about people hoping he wouldn't be impaired by something as selfish as friendship and brotherhood. Instead he flicked another switch and said, "Xingke, have Villeta and Kewell's Frames been fitted with Float Systems?"

"They have. We await only your orders," was Xingke's distracted response, the same hopeful voices filling in the background. "What about C.C.? Isn't she..."

"C.C. will be watching over the Hogosha with Ogi. I will be joining you out there instead."

"You will?" Xingke exclaimed, his voice reaching much higher levels in his shock. "But for you to be out there..."

"This is not to be debated!" Lelouch snapped. Realizing his mistake he calmed down and said, "Sorry, Xingke. But Clovis is... and I..."

"I understand how you feel, Lelouch," Xingke responded. "But making selfish decisions will only hurt the army now. Please reconsider."

"I will not," Lelouch replied sharply, narrowing his eyes. "I will take care not to get carried away, but staying behind in this battle is not an option. If it satisfies you I can leave the ground troops to Jeremiah and Suzaku can protect me, but I..."

"If you are so determined, I will not deny your wishes," Lelouch could hear the regret in Xingke's voice as he said that, but at that moment he hardly cared. "But I would be at ease if you would take Suzaku with you."

"Very well," Lelouch concluded, flicking that switch as well and returning to the blissful silence of the Gawain's cockpit. "I'm coming for you brother. Please wait."

o--o

"Your Highness, the Anti-Britannian Front has arrived. Our forces deployed on the east side of the mountain are under attack and are struggling."

Clovis chuckled as he looked at the messenger carrying the unfortunate duty of reporting to his icy commander, replying, "Tell Cornelia to launch with the Royal Knights. They are expendable."

"Y-your Highness? To say your own sister is expendable is..."

"I care not if she dies," Clovis shrugged, averting his gaze. "If she is adverse to the idea, remind her that Euphemia is back in the Tokyo Settlement and that she is in the palm of my hand."

"... Yes, Your Highness," the messenger saluted before turning tail and running, leaving a laughing Clovis behind. The laughter turned maniacal before long and those on the bridge hastened to obey his silent order that he be alone. Once alone he placed his head on interlocked fingers and sighed contently, saying, "Lelouch, how do you do it? Emotions are a burden – all people must be treated equally if you are to be a successful commander. Peons and generals alike are completely worthless – they are to serve you until they can no longer, and then they are to be disposed of. That is all."

o--o

Cornelia was seated in her Gloucester awaiting permission to sortie when the order came, telling her what she was to do. It went without saying that she was furious – and being reminded that Clovis had control over Euphemia didn't help whatsoever. But orders were orders and even as commander of the Royal Knights she was outranked by the Chancellor, which was why she complained no further and now found herself leading the Royal Knights down the side of Mt. Fuji to a waiting Anti-Britannian Front, outnumbered and outmatched. It was suicide to fight them even with the advantageous position they held and Clovis surely knew that. "So why..."

"Cornelia," Clovis' voice filled her cockpit in all of its icyness, freezing her thoughts and her words in their place. "Lelouch will surely be using a decoy. Make sure the troops on that front do not push too far, and leave the main force to me. What you are fighting is no more than a decoy."

Gritting her teeth, Cornelia said, "So you would use me as canon fodder against decoys... and father would accept that..."

"If you understand, hurry up. Lelouch won't kill himself --"

"-- Is that all you think about?!" Cornelia snapped, glaring pointedly at nothing in particular. "You and Lelouch used to be so close, Clovis!"

"That is insane," Clovis replied dryly. "I have always hated Lelouch. Father has always been preparing me for the time when I may finally kill him. That will be today."

o--o

The battle was every bit as one-sided as everyone thought it would be.

Be it the Gawain or simply the advanced firepower of the Frames at their disposal, particularly the many Han-Shu their army had, the battle was nothing short of a massacre. Anywhere they attacked they were victorious, the Sutherland before them unable to do more than put up some pitiful defense before they fell to either some form of weapon or to a massive Hadron blast. The Lancelot alongside the Gawain only made matters worse, swiftly cleaning up whatever was left behind in the Gawain's wake.

Which was what made the tide of battle shift so drastically when Lelouch suddenly abandoned the army in favor of going after Britannia's airships.

"What are you doing, Lelouch?!" Suzaku shouted, held up by a squad of Sutherland and unable to move.

"Stay there and make sure we aren't pushed back," Lelouch replied, landing his sights on one of the white Avalon-like ships. "And tell Villeta and Kewell to join me. We are going to save Clovis."

"Lelouch!" Suzaku reprimanded, growling in annoyance as again his attempts to chase after Lelouch were thwarted by a Sutherland taking a shot at him. "Acting so selfishly is...!"

Lelouch took a moment to consider that. Was he being selfish in wanting to save Clovis? Naturally it was something that benefited only him, but... "It isn't selfish," Lelouch responded finally. "But I can't just let Clovis die. If he dies, I will..." Lelouch paused before he took another step down the path of being selfish and promptly smacked his head. "If we save Clovis, this battle ends and we take Mt. Fuji," he finally declared, overly proud of his idea.

"Very well," Suzaku responded, and though he tried to sound displeased Lelouch could tell a part of him was glad. "I will make sure the battle on the ground goes well. Good luck, Lelouch."

"To you as well, Suzaku."

Lelouch ignored everything around him as he closed in on the ship he had marked as his first victim, sending a stream from his Hadron cannons through the center of the ship. Slowly the initial explosions spread toward the outer areas of the ship and finally engulfed the entire ship, taking it out in one final, cumulative explosion so large it shook the Gawain even from the distance Lelouch was at. Without pausing he turned and repeated the process, taking almost too much pleasure in watching the ship go down so easily.

"Lelouch," Ogi's voice reverberated through the cockpit, bringing him out of his – dare he admit it – blissful stupor. "We have sighted twenty Knightmare VTOL units. They are trying to reinforce the east side of the mountain."

Lelouch didn't respond, scanning the horizon until he saw them moving toward him, a broad line. Laughing he opened fire, turning ever so slightly as he went to take them all out far more easily than one would think possible. In the wake one other ship fell victim to his attack as well, but he didn't bother to watch it explode as he moved on.

When Villeta and Kewell caught sight of Lelouch from within their Float System-equiped Gloucesters, Lelouch was unleashing his Hadron cannons on another ship, carefully making a point of destroying all but the command airship and was well on his way toward that ship as well. They had almost reached it when a Gloucester was suddenly launched from the ship, making an imposing sight for the three it stood before. It was a far deeper purple than Cornelia's Gloucester and a black cape extended behind it, so large that all but the wings of the attached Float System were invisible. Kewell seemed to recognize it immediately as he gasped out, "Its the vampire! Britannia's Knight of Ten!"

"The Knight of Ten... Sending him out means that my brother is willing to pull all the stops to see me dead," Lelouch sighed, shaking his head. "Villeta, how do you fare against the vampire?"

"In mock battles? I am no match for him – I can last ten minutes, at best. And I was one of the best to ever attempt such a feat," Villeta responded grimly, frowning.

"That will have to do. When you can hold him off no longer, flee. Kewell, you and I will take the opportunity to get into the ship and get Clovis." Calling on the small flicker of hope still shining within him he added, "He won't let this go on if he is right of mind."

Much to Kewell's surprise, the plan went without any problems. Despite its size the Gawain was ignored once Luciano got into fighting with Villeta and Lelouch and Kewell safely reached the ship, breaking into its prison sector with ease. The hallways were deserted as were the rooms, which wasn't surprising. It wasn't until they reached the bridge level that they found any resistance. Even then it was little more than a nuisance; a small threat that could be tossed aside with ease. Which wasn't too far from the truth as everyone that crossed paths with the two was subjected to a simple, "Die," from Lelouch. The light the poked through the windows lining the right side of the hallway added a bright hue to the blood that stained the ground, and a sight that had once brought about the emptying of his stomach now got little more than a passing glance from Lelouch.

It was a circle that Lelouch had only just completed. Clovis had given him the resolve to begin his rebellion and he had first spilled blood that day, and now as he returned to Clovis' side it finally registered itself in his mind that he had changed greatly since then. Though the face people saw was still that of a child, the mind beneath it was one of someone much older. His eyes held more pain in their depths than any his age should; to some, they held more pain than any person reasonably should. And that was before noticing the red sigils in his eyes, telling the world just how far beyond normal people he was. In both mind and soul he was hardly human, though whether that was a good thing or not was surely a subject worth debating.

"You," Lelouch looked up to see a soldier guarding a large door, Britannia's emblem embedded in the center and golden trimmings lining the outside. The look in the soldier's eyes was one of mixed boredom and unmistakable fear – a look that undeniably told Lelouch it was his brother who waited beyond this door. The boredom seemed to win in the end however as his eyes drooped to a half-close, "You need Level Seven clearance or higher to enter here. Your uniform isn't even a Private rank, so... Wait, what rank are you?"

"Oh, sorry." Lelouch draped a hand over his eyes and he smirked, continuing, "I am not with the military, but I would like to see His Highness."

"And _why_ should I let you?" the soldier asked tiredly, narrowing his eyes to near-slits.

Lelouch removed his hand from his eyes and said, "Lelouch Lamperouge commands you to let me pass."

The soldier broke into a salute and said, "Yes, sir!" before taking the card key hanging around his neck and swiping it through a slot to the side of the door. A green light flashed as the door slid open and the soldier broke into another salute as Lelouch and Kewell passed by and into the command center. The room was not much different from the one on the Hogosha. A large Britannian flag hung in the center of the room and the emblem was crested into the ground beneath them; there were people seated in a horseshoe formation around a central table tending to their own duties, the table itself unoccupied; a flight of stairs to the right of where Lelouch stood led up to a throne as regal as the Emperor's own where Clovis sat, either unaware or uncaring of his half-brother's presence. Much like their prince the room's other occupants were unaware of his presence, though Lelouch owed that to the simple fact that they were far too busy tending to their own jobs to notice. Such had often been the case on the Hogosha, anyway.

"You got farther than I suspected you would, Lelouch," Clovis' voice echoed through the room in such an icy tone that it was a wonder to Lelouch that he could consider any person before to be evil. Though it was no more than a voice, a possible falsehood, the icy tone contained such malice that it was impossible to consider it anything but evil. "But then, you are my brother. I should expect nothing less from one of my own blood," with a wave Clovis dismissed everyone else – who had since turned to watch their prince carefully – and Lelouch proceeded toward Clovis as they departed, waiting for his brother to add the words he knew he would add. He knew he would because he knew the person in front of him; he knew the man in front of him to be every bit the man he'd taken his father to be. Which was why he did nothing but nod absently as Clovis added, "Or should I say father's blood."

"Those are not words my brother would say," Lelouch replied immediately. Clovis scowled a scowl Lelouch hadn't seen since he had been named a political hostage before the whole of the royal court in Pendragon, nearly eight years ago. Chills ran down his spine and he clenched his eyes shut, willing away the tears that were threatening to return at that moment. Tears that he had hoped to discard once the battle had begun – tears that he would be unable to stop unless he acted quickly. "Kewell, if you would."

Kewell nodded and stepped forward, his eye glowing with a blue sigil as he said, "I am sorry, Your Highness," and activated the power held within. The coldness within Clovis' eyes seemed to dispell immediately and he fell forward, gasping for breath. Lelouch broke any commander-like composure and rushed forward, embracing his brother and running his fingers through the blond locks, repeating over and over that they were together again. Clovis nodded numbly as he came to and Lelouch pulled back, fresh tears of happiness running down his face. "Brother..."

"... Lelouch," Clovis' voice was soft and caring, completely different from the icy tone it had held previously. Upon hearing it Lelouch rushed forward once more, sobbing into his brother's chest as they once more embraced. Kewell watched on with a small smile, nodding every so often in approval of the scene before him. Any that disapproved would be heartless people, he decided; they looked far too happy to be torn apart simply for being enemies. "Why are you here, Lelouch? I..."

"It doesn't matter, brother," Lelouch choked out, pulling back to look into his brother's eyes with pure adoration. "You are okay. You're okay! That is all that matters."

o--o

Villeta groaned as she managed to only barely block yet another of Luciano's relentless attacks. They came in quick succession and without any regard for his own Frame, and the thought had crossed Villeta's mind that he hadn't even noticed the damage he had done to his own Frame in the process of thrashing her around. The notion of her being helpless to all the abuse was a distant one at the moment – her thoughts were far too wrapped in other matters. Were Lelouch and Kewell okay? Had they finished their end? Much as she needed to turn tail and run she couldn't afford to; if they needed more time and she ran, they would be abandoned and Luciano would come for them next. It was only a matter of time, and she needed to buy as much as possible.

"Does life matter this much to you?" Luciano drawled with a heavy laugh, one both carefree and burdened at the same time. "It is a precious thing, after all! But you are clinging far too tightly!"

"Life is something you have to hold onto. Losing it isn't something to fear, but you can't throw it away either," Villeta responded calmly, kicking aside Luciano's lance thrust and countering with one of her own. Luciano dodged with incredible ease and assaulted her again, sending her spiraling toward the trees below. "For His Highness, I am prepared to lose mine here. But fighting you? I'll make sure I take you with me!"

"For His Highness?!" Luciano broke out into a laughter so sadistic that Villeta was frozen in place for the entirety of it. "Losing your life for someone else is stupid! You are an idiot!"

Villeta finally spurred into action, dodging the incoming bullets Luciano was sending her way and closing the distance between them, thrusting her lance through one of his arms. "You are an idiot, fighting without purpose. You aren't a hero – you are nothing more than a murderer."

"In wartime, people are aloud to kill though!" Luciano chimed, pulling his arm away from the lance it was impaled on and discarding it, leaving it to fall to the ground below in a useless heap. Such was how a person was meant to live after all; discard what is no longer useful, and use only what can be made use of. Those that are weak or inferior had no value – such were the words of the Emperor himself.

"This is the Third Prince and Chancellor of the Holy Britannian Empire, Clovis La Britannia," Clovis' voice echoed over the entire mountain in all of its authority, devoid of the cold tone it had previously held. Villeta breathed a sigh of relief as his voice was heard and listened all too eagerly as he went on, "All forces are to cease fighting immediately! Anti-Britannian Front, I have entered into negotiations with your commander and we have decided to order a truce; all forces, cease fighting now!"

"You hear that?" Villeta taunted, lowering her lance. "You are no longer aloud to kill. If you continue now, you are no more than a murderer."

Luciano just laughed as he thrusted his lance at Villeta, nearly catching her in the arm. "Let nobles talk! We are soldiers! So long as we are enemies, we can kill one another!" The worst part was that there was some logic to the madman's words. As shocking as it was in itself to admit that a man of questionable sanity made sense, it was even more unbelievable that she found herself agreeing with his logic. _'I'm not supposed to think that enjoying killing is okay!'_ she tried to reason, to no avail. Her thoughts eluded such thoughts from then on and replaced all attempts at reason with words of discouragement, telling her she had every right to let go and go all out this once. After all, how much worse off could she be? She was siding with a traiter, fighting against her own country... letting go was a distant thing, she realized all too suddenly.

"You are right, we can kill eachother." Villeta grabbed her rifle and opened fire, following Luciano whenever he tried to dodge. When it grew evident that such an effort was pointless she tossed her rifle aside and readied her lance, swiping at Luciano's other arm. Swerving the attack proved to be a bad idea when the lance instead caught the Float System on his back, destroying it immediately and sending him hurtling toward the sloped ground below. Villeta followed him as he fell, dodging around the shots sent her way from Luciano's attempts at taking her down with him. One shot resulted in her Float System being removed as well, though she managed to catch onto a long tree branch to stop herself from taking any real damage as the ground met her.

Luciano was waiting for her as she came to, lance poised at the throat of her Gloucester, and his cackling laughter surrounded her soon after, a booming sound that chilled her to the core. "Are you ready to die? Are you ready to lose your life?" Villeta scowled but didn't answer, grabbing onto a tree branch above her and avoiding the lance by pulling away from the attack, grabbing her own lance and pointing it at Luciano.

"I am ready to lose my life, but I'll be taking your's first," she replied coldly, pushing her lance forward the extra few inches necessary to pierce Luciano's Frame. Before the lance actually pierced Luciano leaped backwards, grabbing a nearby Sutherland – one that, Villeta noticed in a state of complete shock, happened to be one of his own allies – and threw him into the path of the lance, forcing him instead to take the brunt of the attack. Wide-eyed and in disbelief, Villeta muttered, "Y-you...!" as best as she could given her shock. And unfortunately, her shock didn't leave much room for successful speech. So when she could manage full sentences she tried again, "You would waste a soldier's life for your own?!"

Luciano laughed loudly at that, "Life is your most important thing! Compared to that, nothing should matter!" before tossing aside the remains he still held, grabbing his lance and slicing off one of Villeta's arms, knocking her lance to the ground in the process. Villeta growled under her breath as she slowly backed herself away and helplessly opened fire from the machine gun mounted on her chest, though to little success as Luciano began looping through the forest surrounding them, faster than her bullets could follow him. She even lost sight of him for a brief while only to find him as he suddenly emerged from between two trees, lance swinging in front of him. And to her great disdain, Villeta had no choice but to eject.

o--o

"Lelouch, what are you doing?!" Clovis cried as Kewell loaded himself and Clovis onto a small transport ship, Lelouch watching on from the side as he checked the cartridge of the pistol in his hand. Lelouch wore an indifferent expression despite his inner turmoil, warring with himself, telling himself not to let Clovis go. Telling himself that leaving Clovis in Kewell's hands would mean he'd never see Clovis again. It was a foolish thought – after all, Clovis was far safer with Kewell than on a ship where soldiers were trying to take him out for assuming he is in league with Lelouch. But at the same time Lelouch couldn't help but worry, and he had no idea why.

"I will protect you, brother," Lelouch said tenderly as he turned away, willing himself not to tear up again. "I will not let them take you from me again. For now, trust Kewell."

Without another word Lelouch took off through the halls, finally coming to the entrance he and Kewell had used when they had first breached the ship. Waiting outside was the Gawain in all of its glory, all but crying out to him. He wasn't about to deny its wishes as he extended himself up to the cockpit and climbed in, starting up the large Frame and running over spec checks as quickly as he could manage. Which, while it was fast, it was far from fast enough in Lelouch's mind. Images of Clovis floating over a battlefield, helpless and left to be shot down crossed his mind but he blocked them out, willing himself to believe that he would get Clovis to the safety of the Hogosha and that he, along with Nunnally, would be safe.

"Lelouch! Their forces aren't pulling back! A purple Sutherland has assumed command of them and is charging down the front of the mountain!" Lelouch had expected that, of course, though he hardly cared at the moment. As the Gawain took off to the sky at the same time that the transport ship was launched from the linear catapult, all that mattered to him was Clovis' safety. It was a selfish notion, but the lives of his men came second to the life of his half-brother.

Even so, as a commander he had to make some form of action. With a sigh he replied, "Abandon all other fronts and prepare to hold the main line. Suzaku and Karen will attack from behind. And patch me through to Cornelia."

A long moment passed before a deep and questionably feminine voice invaded his silence, heavy with exhaustion and displeasure, "Lelouch?"

"Cornelia," Lelouch acknoledged with a nod, despite the fact that she could not see him. "It has been several months since we last spoke. Better circumstances could be had, but..."

"Cut to the chase, Lelouch; we're enemies," her voice showed no patience for her rebellious half-brother but Lelouch kept his cool still, reminding himself of Clovis' hopes that he not lose control of his emotions so easily.

With that thought in mind he replied, "I have my half-brother in my possession. I will ask only once that you withdraw at once." A sharp gasp followed by several muttered curses followed. Definitely like Cornelia to be so aggressive even in her mannerisms and speech.

"You would bribe me with your brother's safety? Clovis isn't the only one that has changed," she said at last.

"It is a long story, Cornelia; Clovis was not himself and I have returned him to normal, though I cannot say how at this time. Please believe me." A long silence followed but Lelouch could tell she was considering his words. They were perfectly believable after all – Clovis was indeed a different person lately, and Lelouch wouldn't have gone after him without a plan of some sort. When Cornelia let out a breathy sigh Lelouch let out the breath he'd been holding in, waiting for her response.

"Very well, Lelouch. But if you are lying to me..."

"I swear I am not."

Another sigh, "We will pull back. I will speak with you later, Lelouch. I expect a full explanation then."

Lelouch couldn't help but grinning to himself as he returned his full attention to the transport ship in front of him. Though in reality it was no more than twenty inches from front to back and five from side to side, it held more of Lelouch inside of it than anything else. The black lines running along the sides and mixing in with the yellow and white color scheme of the ship only deepened his belief in that fact – the little corruption that was him mixing in with everything else, so to speak. ... Okay, so that hardly sounded proper. But as Lelouch watched the ship as they sped along, the Hogosha now waiting for them on the horizon, he didn't care how much sense he made in his analogies.

"Ready to lose your life, Rebel Prince?" Lelouch's heart stopped as those few, simple words invaded his calm.

o--o

Down below, Luciano watched as the Gawain escorted the small transport ship – surely it held Clovis, Luciano reasoned – overhead. His first instinct was a simple one; remembering the Emperor's words he quickly took position and grabbed his rifle, aiming carefully through the treetops at the small ship. It was a difficult shot to make, but that only added more excitement to the kill. After all, a foe who isn't easy to kill is always a more satisfying one when they finally draw their final breath. Luciano's life would be a very boring one if nobody fought to keep what was most precious to them, he thought gleefully.

"Ready to lose your life, Rebel Prince?" he asked with a chilled laugh as he pressed hard on a second trigger, sending a grenade soaring up and into the air. It took only a moment for it to hit its mark and as the small transport ship burst into little more than a ball of flame and falling remnants he couldn't help but laugh harder still, almost too pleased with his achievement – even if it had been relatively easy to accomplish.

Lelouch, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as happy about the situation. His arms fell limp at his sides and he just stared, hard, praying to whatever gods he still had on his side that this was a nightmare. That this was another one of his mind's almost too real worst case scenario conjurations. But no, no matter how hard he tried, he knew. He knew that this was real and that Clovis had just been engulfed in that explosion. Kewell was all but forgotten and all that was on Lelouch's mind was Clovis; the caring older half-brother who hadn't done a single thing to deserve such a fate. When he was right of mind, anyway, but that was hardly a relevent point.

"C-commander..." Ogi started, eyes wide as he watched the Gawain come to a sudden halt. He didn't have to be able to see within the Gawain to know the state its occupant would be in at that moment, and that reality made him feel that much worse.

"Ogi..." Lelouch replied, his voice hoarse and choked with the sobs that nearly escaped from his throat. But instead Lelouch stayed calm; in his sorrow he didn't shed a single tear, instead directing all thoughts to one simple thing. "Launch all reserve forces now."

"W-what? We're already overpowering them! More troops would mean..."

"I don't care," Lelouch shot back, his voice low and devoid of any of the anger one would expect at such a time. "Just... send them out."

"... Why?"

"Britannia has committed an unforgivable war crime here. We shall act accordingly – we shall kill them all."

"B-but Lelouch, I'm sure if we told them that they would..." Ogi tried – in vain, he knew – to reason with the emotionally unstable commander.

"I have given my orders! Britannia will pay for this! Kill them all – if they are in a Knightmare Frame, they are to be taken out! Do not rest until they are all gone!"

Ogi knew he had no choice but to obey, despite his misgivings. Flipping another switch he said, "Orders from Commander Lelouch. We are to begin an all out extermination of Britannian forces in the Mt. Fuji area. Do not rest until they are all eliminated."

The battle from that point on could be described with one word. Carnage. Britannia was helpless as the torrents of Sutherland, Gloucester, Burai and even Gekka charged at them, carelessly taking out any Knightmare Frame that they crossed paths with. The Britannians tried to retreat – on more than one occasion – but the enemy would not have any of that, blocking off all escape routes as quickly as they became available and further cutting off the enemy from their safe haven... wherever that happened to be. Lelouch was the worst of it, though. From overhead he sought out large groups of Knightmare Frames and, not listening one bit to the pleading words of the soldiers below – they hadn't cared when it was Clovis that had a gun pointed at him, after all – as he opened fire with his Hadron cannons, taking out as many as ten Knightmare Frames in a single burst.

Suzaku tried several times to reason with Lelouch, but his attempts were met with little more success than Ogi's attempts or the pleading words Britannian soldiers had to offer before their lives were turned to dust. In the end he couldn't stand to watch the massacre and retreated to the Hogosha – not that Lelouch even noticed. He was far too busy taking his vengeance out on just about any enemy that moved. It took little more than twenty minutes for the entirety of the Britannian army to be wasted, but even that left Lelouch wholly unsatisfied. And no matter what he did, he knew he'd never be satisfied until Luciano's life was put to an end.

o--o

Lelouch was no more stable when he returned to the Hogosha's hangar, exiting the Gawain and lowering himself to the ground. His eyes were a lifeless daze as he stared ahead of he, dragging his feet as he went, giving no more than a passing nod to any who tried to greet him. Suzaku tried handing off his mask and though Lelouch took it gratefully, Suzaku too got little more than a nod in greeting. Suzaku knew not to press Lelouch at that moment and so he left him alone, though others didn't have the same insight and continued to pester their commander, finally resulting in him snapping. Turning on the unlucky one to finally break him down he said, "I just want to be alone! Go speak with Xingke!" before taking off in a more purposeful stride toward his room.

It was little surprise that C.C. was waiting for him in their room, though he ignored her too, collapsing onto his bed with a soft thud. His mask was once again discarded and tossed haphazardly across the room but Lelouch didn't care, finally breaking down and showing the first flicker of emotion since Clovis had been struck. Tears began to flow down his cheeks silently, halted not by the drooping of his eyelids – he just lay there, eyes closed and trying to sleep, with tears running down his face. It hardly registered in his mind that C.C. crawled into his bed next to him, wrapping her arms around his chest and pressing her face into his back. The comfort did little to cast aside his sorrow at that moment.

"So, Clovis died..." it was little more than a thoughtful observation on C.C.'s part, but it served little more purpose than to make Lelouch even more unstable. He threw himself out of her embrace and turned around, glaring at her. He didn't seem to care that the glare looked hardly threatening with tears rolling down his cheeks – that fact seemed to cast aside any additional threat that the Geass could throw in – and C.C. wasn't phased in the least, though she made no attempt to respond to his glare. "... I'm sorry," though she did say that, much to Lelouch's shock. Lelouch blinked a few times to make sure it was in fact C.C. he was looking at – she wasn't one for such sentiments, after all, and her teasing hardly counted – before he smiled ever so slightly and nodded.

"We can't bring back the dead – dwelling on such a hope is idiotic," he responded, taking in with great interest the flicker of emotion on C.C.'s face that seemed almost... sad? He pushed away the very notion and went on, "But Clovis has taught me something, even in death." Another pause was had before he finished, "I need to be ruthless – cold and willing to do whatever it takes – if I am to defeat my father. Today I tried to save Clovis as I fought; that was a weakness as a commander. I need to be willing to do away with such things."

Another very un-C.C.-like moment occurred as she reached her hand out, gently moving a strand of hair from Lelouch's face, saying, "Don't forget why you are fighting to begin with. If you forget that..." she didn't bother to finish the sentence, but Lelouch understood perfectly. He offered a small smile of reassurance that was hardly convincing and C.C. shook her head, chuckling slightly as she went on, "Don't pretend to be okay. You've done enough pretending in your life."

Lelouch really couldn't dispute that point.

His mind left all the worries and all the sorrows that had recently corrupted it and settled on a far more simple matter. C.C. herself. Why was she being so... well, not C.C.? She'd been cold to him in the beginning and they eventually built something resembling a normal bond over time, sure, but her current attitude was... almost normal, as far as female behaviour went. It was a bewildering thing to consider and it did nothing but confuse Lelouch to no end. Just what was she after by treating him as more than a partner? Did she want him to be her friend? Or was it some sort of scheme on her part that required her present kindness?

Though he couldn't begin to be sure, the latter possibility seemed far more likely.

"This war will be over soon," Lelouch stated, clearly wanting to change the topic. C.C. nodded her agreement and softly closed her eyes, not retreating from Lelouch's bed. Lelouch didn't comment on that as he went on, "Area 11 can't be held with Mt. Fuji under our control; Sakuradite mines are largely only in this area. So long as the area around the mountain and the shores are under our control, Area 11 is our's."

"Just remember that we still have things to do beyond taking down your father," C.C. replied softly. She felt Lelouch nod and, waiting a moment, she softly pressed her lips to his before standing up. "So long as you remember, I will be here. Remember that." Again Lelouch nodded, this time as a reflex because he couldn't think of anything else to do or say, and she retreated to her own bed, throwing down the sheets and slowly crawling in. Lelouch drifted to sleep not long after, unable to understand a single thing that had gone on between the two of them that night. All he knew was that his head was begging him not to trust her current attitude.

The next morning came all too quickly and Lelouch was hardly feeling any better. After a quick refreshing session he placed his mask over his head and made for the command center where Xingke, Todo and Ogi were standing around the table in the center, seemingly in discussion. Without a word he took his own place on one side of the table, disheartened but not completely put out by the fact that the only looks he got from them were ones of sympathy. "Cornelia Li Britannia has regained control of the remnants of Britannia's occupying army and she has declared her intent to resist us to the last," Ogi went on, waving his arms in a frantic manner. "On top of that, several insurgent groups have taken arms in the Tokyo Settlement area and are making a stand because of the lack of military presence on Britannia's part. If this goes on we will lose the people's support."

"We will dismiss that matter for now," Lelouch responded, surprising everyone with his input. "For the time being we need to make sure that Cornelia doesn't try to reclaim control over the mines here. We need to make sure we have our own miners in there working and keeping Britannia away." There were nods of agreement around the table that Lelouch took to be a sign to continue, and so he went on, "Schneizel has something planned, so we will hold our position here for now. It will give us a chance to regroup and get some rest."

Xingke looked down at the table as he said, "What will we be doing with the Sakuradite resources? Mt. Fuji has one of the largest deposits in the country – all nations will be sending representatives to get their hands on some of the Sakuradite here."

It was only the ever present sorrow of the present situation hanging over Lelouch that kept him from smirking as he said, "For all of our success so far, we don't have the manpower to fight Britannia on completely equal terms. We've done well so far, but we need to increase our power if we are to take the fight to their stage."

"You want to use our hold on Sakuradite to unite the world against Britannia..." Xingke mused, and despite the frown on his face he seemed to be seriously pondering the idea. It took only a moment for him to nod, saying, "It would be effective... but to go so far is..."

"Its a bit much," Todo finished bluntly.

"If we let motives hold us back we won't get anywhere," Lelouch shot back immediately.

"That being said, there remains the issue of our growing number of prisoners and stowaways," Ogi stated, more or less with a stern look in Lelouch's direction.. "What will we do about them?"

"Nunnally is staying," Lelouch replied immediately, and nobody dared argue that. "As for the others, we can provide transport to the Tokyo Settlement. Our prisoners will remain here for now, but the others are students from Ashford Academy."

Twenty minutes later and Tamaki was ready with a small transport vehicle with seating for five, parked outside the now grounded Hogosha. Lelouch was standing nearby with his friends, his mask discarded and his hand over his eyes. An awkward silence hung over them as each willed another to speak, though none of them could bring themselves to say anything in that situation. Lelouch was the only one willing to speak, though he refused to be the one to break the silence. Of his friends, not one was looking away from his hand-covered eyes, deciding that his demonic eyes were far more interesting than any of the various things lying around the ground. Not even the large ship next to them beat his eyes in the interest department.

"Lelouch... I..." Shirley started, finally making an attempt at breaking the heavy silence. Lelouch turned his head to stare at her, though his eyes were still covered, as he waited for her to continue. "I don't really know what to say..." a nervous chuckle. "Its too hard," even without looking Lelouch could tell tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Shirley..." Lelouch tried to formulate a response but all he managed to do was wildly fling his arms around, momentarily revealing his eyes. He swiftly covered them and ignored the slightly dazed expressions on his friends' faces as he formulated the only real word he could get settled in his mouth, "... Goodbye."

"Why can't you just return to Ashford with us, Lelouch? Live a normal life?" Shirley tried, the tears falling harder still. "Its not too late to forget all this and come back. You, Kallen, Suzaku..."

Lelouch shook his head, "I can't. You heard what happened out here yesterday – the ship that was destroyed. It probably hasn't occurred to you, but that..." he too began to cry as the memory came back, but he willed himself to remain strong. "My half-brother was on that ship. I lost my half-brother yesterday. If I stopped now, I'd be making his death pointless. I've sacrificed things like that because I had to, and those sacrifices would be worthless if I gave up."

The reality of that statement sunk in all too quickly and Shirley silenced herself, looking away and stepping back almost fearfully from Lelouch. Milly took her place a moment later, far more composed as she placed a hand on his shoulder and gripped tightly, saying, "Take care of Nunnally. I won't forgive you if you lose her too." She was breaking down on the inside, Lelouch could tell.

"Of course," Lelouch nodded, and Milly took a step back as well. Peaking through between his fingers Lelouch turned to Rivalz, smiling bitterly as he said his name softly, barely more than a breath.

"Lelouch," Rivalz responded, hesitantly. Lelouch could tell he was trying hard to not be the spontaneous friend Lelouch had long known him to be, breaking down and crying into Lelouch's chest. Instead his voice was firm, portraying well just how mature he was trying to be. "I was wrong. You are a traitor Lelouch, but you are doing what you feel is right. I can't fight that."

"I am going to hell," Lelouch agreed, holding his hand out tentatively. Rivalz took it and they shared brief handshake before Lelouch continued, "But I'll go to hell knowing I fought for what I think is right. And it is good knowing I'll die with friends, instead of alone like this cursed power is dooming me to."

Nothing more than emotional embraces were shared before his friends took their leave with Tamaki, out of Lelouch's life forever. But they were still his friends, even from so far away. They were still people he knew would be there when the world was his enemy, when it would come to such a thing. The thought brought further tears to his eyes. Suzaku took his place by Lelouch's side and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, saying, "It was better than keeping them with us."

Lelouch knew he was right. Steeling himself he said, "It is as you said. At this time, they are nothing more than burdens on us. They are our friends, but they are not safe with us. They, like so much else, are things that must be sacrificed for our cause."

And Suzaku too knew that Lelouch was right.

o--o

Mt. Fuji was a place of bitter memories to Lelouch, even if they were just a day old.

The place was stained with an invisible layer of blood that Lelouch had on his hands. The entire mountain had become the site of a massacre he'd found himself wondering if he would ever live down. Between allies and enemies over one thousand had died in a matter of minutes, and it was all because of his emotional impulse. It was for this reason that it was such a fitting place to be making a grave; nothing more than a large stone stuck in the ground, with a golden crown placed atop it. Two sets of flowers were placed in front of it and in front of them stood Lelouch, a third bouquet in his arms. Karen and Suzaku stood on either side of him, watching him carefully. No more tears were shed. A thick silence was all there was, devoid even of something as trivial as the wind. It was as if the world stood still for them.

"I couldn't protect you, brother," Lelouch started, staring hard at the crown resting atop the stone. Suzaku and Karen hung their heads in silence as they listened on to Lelouch's continuing speech, "But I won't dwell on your loss. You wouldn't want that, would you?" A bitter laugh, "But then again, you didn't want me to allow hatred into my heart. You wanted me to keep my head up. But I couldn't do that either. I couldn't live up to your words or your wishes. I'm truly a terrible brother.

"But as a leader, this is a success. The kindness you wanted me to hold on to is a weakness in this world, and without you I can't keep clinging to such an ideal. If I am to move on I need to be ready to forget that kindness. Please forgive me."

A small breeze picked up suddenly, ruffling Lelouch's hair. He looked toward the sky and smiled softly; not a bitter smile showing all the pain he felt, but a genuine smile that brought tears to the eyes of Karen and Suzaku. "You forgive me, I hope," was all he said before he walked forward, placing the bouquet between the other two. Placing his hand on the crown he said quietly, "I won't say goodbye, brother. I'll make sure you are never forgotten, and so long as I live a piece of you will too."

The wind whistled between tree branches as the three walked away. Nothing had been said on their way there and nothing would be said as they left – no words were needed. For all the pain Lelouch felt, words couldn't properly express what should be said at such a time. But even so, he was understood perfectly. He could be able to move on – of that much there were certain.

* * *

This chapter ended up being far longer than I thought it would be. Phew. Sorry if the last scene seemed rushed – it wasn't really, to be honest, but it didn't need to be all that long. The battle over Mt. Fuji is the last battle of the war, but there will be more excitement to come, or at least I think so. We'll soon find out if you feel the same way.


	20. Blissful Normality: Part One

This chapter is nothing more than a whole lot of nothing as far as I'm concerned. Filler, filler, filler; thats all this chapter and the next (which I initially planned to only be this chapter, but I soon realized this chapter was close to 20,000 words in length) are going to be. Reason being that I want to see if I've lost my touch at writing things that aren't the fast paced action we've had for god only knows how long, so we'll be finding that out this chapter. So either we can expect a very good chapter or an absolutely awful one – I really don't know to be honest, so I hope you all will help me out by letting me know. If it makes your feel better, after this chapter things are going to be going into an upward spiral – the story will be over within the next while, so I'll be calling this the halfway point or so. Maybe that will give you hope in case this chapter is as awful as I'm fearing it will be.

Infinite Freedom, you are sort of right in saying that the Percival isn't completely unreasonable as a Knightmare Frame (that is, of course, if we ignore the whole drill-arm like thing). And he will get a personal Knightmare Frame of some kind later on, but I can assure you that it won't be the Percival, or even a limited production Frame. Reason being that while it is not entirely unreasonable, it is still part of the R2 lot that is, as a whole, for the more part unreasonable – the Energy Wing Float System and the Excalibur come to mind. Technology went way too far from the relatively toned down firepower that was presented in season one, and I intend to keep it in the ballpark range of that.

And noian, you could technically say that Lelouch was a little OOC and weepy in the last chapter, and you wouldn't be wrong in saying so. But at the same time (as lacking as evidence supporting this has been recently), Lelouch has been OOC all along. Granted he has been drifting closer and closer to canon Lelouch as we go and he is now largely the same as canon Lelouch, but there will still be key differences. Furthermore, character development for the teen is far from done – there is just too much fun to be had with his fragile character to leave him alone, you know?

Lastly, I am so so sorry for the terribly long delay. As if school wasn't enough, the AC Adapter for my laptop (which had previously been my computer of choice when writing) decided to stop working, and the subsequent dying of my laptop's battery put a rather irreparable hamper on my work as I was left without an operating laptop. It was by a stroke of luck that I had printed off what I had done up until two days prior to said incident so I could work on my writing in my free time at school, but copying seven thousand or so words of writing from a sheet of paper has never been my thing, and so transferring all the writing over to this computer to a lengthy amount of time.

Update on the AC Adapter situation (as of the 21st) is that I have replaced it, meaning I have all my work back – coincidentally I had finished copying everything to my other computer the night before. Anyway, yeah, everything back to normal, meaning all the melodrama about my laptop being down and out was entirely pointless! Just felt I should point that out.

* * *

"The Fourth Division of the Second Panzer-Hummel Corps has been located two miles east of the city. Squad Two is moving to intercept as we speak," one of the many soldiers lingering around stated as calmly as he could manage. This soldier in particular was distinguishable only by the golden dragon in the background of the Britannian emblem on his uniform – a symbol of his loyalty to Prince Schneizel El Britannia.

The small and overly decorated G-1 mobile base was alive with activity as the battle progressed before them; soldiers coming and going as they pleased with an almost unnatural lack of respect for authority. There was no sense of order whatsoever, despite the strong hand their commander – who was to blame for the very dramatic nature of the base's decoration style – had over the situation. Perhaps it was because in all truth he technically wasn't a military commander at all – his authority came solely from what the Second Prince and Prime Minister, Schneizel El Britannia, granted him. Kanon Maldini, however, was exceeding all expectations dramatically in his effectiveness as a leader and military commander, and that did indeed earn him some level of respect in the chain of command.

Not a noticeable amount, of course.

"Squad Two is to change their target destination toward the west and proceed to head them off near the city perimeter. But they are not to break through and reach the city; this city has to be under our control before His Highness arrives," Kanon responded entirely in a single breath, his eyes not leaving the large table set out in front of him. He brought illustration to his words as he moved a small red cone to the right side of a large black square and moved two others into the black square, followed by moving a blue cone closer to the first red one. "Assess the strength of the enemy before engaging and give me the report as soon as it is available. I want to know everything up to the quality of the weaponry on their Knightmare Frames."

"The Third Division has snaked its way around the city! They are en route to the city from the northwest. If they arrive, they will be able to flank us!"

"Holding this position will lose its purpose if they flank us in such a manner." With a smirk and a small pause, Kanon said, "Prepare all reserves to merge with Squad Five and move to engage. The reserves and Squad Five will take up position on either side of the pass at point D-3. When they pass through that point the reserves will attack first, followed by Squad Five's main force." Again he moved cones on the table in front of him to reflect the orders he sent out; one small red cone was moved to the northwest side of the black square, to the left of it a blue cone that had been there all along. Another red cone was moved to a position a short distance from the blue cone on the opposite side, surrounding it. Lastly he moved two other blue cones to join the surrounded one, completing the rather accurate situation.

"The remnants of the First Division are crumbling under the attacks of Squad Three and Squad Four. With this, the city should be under our control shortly," another soldier stated, his voice more rough with the age and experience that was evident in his eyes. The eyes of someone that had seen far too much in warfare. The eyes of someone who had watched countless people die in front of him – as many Britannians had in its war torn history – and did nothing but bask in the afterglow of a successful battle. It was the way of a Britannian to act as such, of course. Killing without remorse, committing every act deemed acceptable by your superiors, it was all the way of the Britannian.

Because to a Britannian, you aren't strong if you aren't willing to do so. The Britannian mentality was a harsh one indeed.

"Change priority to defending the city. They will be trying to retake it," Kanon ordered swiftly.

Out on the battlefield, the battle was playing out exactly as Kanon had planned. Squad Two – consisting of thirty or so Sutherland and five Gloucester – immediately caught their targets and opened fire, raining anything from bullets to grenades to whatever destructive weaponry they had at their disposal upon the helplessly immobile Panzer-Hummel Knightmare Frames, suffering from a severe inequality in terms of mobility. Their superior numbers allowed something of an even score, but poor weaponry and block-like movements ultimately undid them before the superior mobility of the Sutherland and Britannia's superior pilots. What few shots they did get off – often little more than a few rounds or a single grenade – seldom hit its mark with their targets swerving to and fro in an almost spider web-like maze, and the battle subsequently went one-sidedly in the favor of Britannia.

Comparatively, the fight against the Third Division was a far more brutal affair. The two-pronged attack made for an interesting battle in which strategy and superior artillery did little more than even the odds against the very superior numbers the Panzer-Hummel boasted. At odds of fifty Sutherland and ten Gloucester against well over two hundred Panzer-Hummel, one couldn't help but anticipate a one-sided battle. But Britannia evened the odds rather quickly as they dispatched Panzer-Hummel with surprising efficiency, losing only one Sutherland for every five Panzer-Hummel, on average. This calculation was one Kanon had taken great delight in basing his decision around, and those risking their lives were equally delighted to see just how well thought out his plan was.

"The reserves and Squad Five are to finish pushing through, with orders to retreat toward the city before any decisive damage is taken. Squads Three and Four will finish up cleaning out the troops inside the city and then move to assist Squad Five. And how fares the battle against the Fourth Division?" As Kanon hastened to send orders out with almost frightening speed and effectiveness, many couldn't help but pause in their work to cast a wary glance in his direction. After all, in terms of rank he was no more than the Prime Minister's assistant – his lapdog of sorts. Nothing in his job description said the least bit about any leadership talent. Perhaps they would have to report this later...

"The Fourth Division has taken massive damage from Squad Two's assault. We can expect a conclusion to that conflict shortly." But first, the fulfillment of their duty.

"The remnants of the First Division are all in hiding now. Captains Burrow and Lind are requesting permission to proceed to phase two," another said almost in perfect flow with the end of the statement of the soldier before him.

"Permission granted. We will go and clean up," Kanon stated after a moment's thought.

"Us? But Sir..."

"The world has seen first hand just how effective having the King move as well can be. That being said, we will take to the occupation of Yaroslavl ourselves. The base's personal guard should suffice to finish the job," Kanon retorted swiftly. His eyes fell back to the table as he moved the two red cones within the black square toward the two red cones and three blue cones to the northwest. With one hand he tossed aside two of the blue cones while the other grabbed a large red cone, moving it into the black square. "Yes, the King shall lead his forces this time."

"Yes, Sir," the soldier drawled, bringing himself to a stiff salute. The sentiment was repeated moments later by the rest of the room, and Kanon couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"I could get used to hearing that."

o--o

The Warrick Palace had, until recently, been a vision of radiant beauty, given the standard lustre of the many palaces on Saint Darwin Street. Color of nearly obnoxious amounts made the palace unique, as did the many paintings the late prince Clovis had personally painted. Though his death had been reported just two days ago, all color had already been seemingly drained from the palace. Not in a literal sense in the least, but the dreadful feel the palace now held was a mood dampener that nobody could deny, and one that made the possibility of an eerie gray fog settling absolutely logical. Paintings still sat in their original places, untouched, but any that had included the Third Prince himself had been promptly removed. There was little surprise as to why, of course. This was after all the residence of one of the many women the Emperor had bedded over the years. Gabriella La Britannia, loving mother to Clovis La Britannia, in particular.

Cornelia decided rather quickly that she hated the palace now, as she trudged through the foyer with a rather unintentional slouch – a byproduct of the aforementioned dreadful feel. It wasn't so much the feel of the place that irked her as it was the prospect that this palace was once the place where her half-brother – one that, despite her usual indifference toward the matter, she truly had cared for – had grown up. The palace where he had grown up felt suddenly empty without any trace of him having ever lived there and that, more than anything else, was what truly bothered Cornelia. _'It almost seems as though he had never lived here,'_ she repeated to herself, this time taking a moment to allow the words to sink in. Had never lived there? That was just stupid. Of course he had lived there. Of course he had lived there and shared many great moments of his childhood with Cornelia, Schneizel, among others, and, dare she say it, Lelouch. But despite knowing that, Cornelia couldn't help but question the wisdom in advertising such a fact in the Warrick Palace.

And it was with that thought in mind that Cornelia decided that she hated herself as much as she hated the palace.

"Well, whatever the case..." Cornelia sighed and continued on, entering a large room – much like a ballroom, save for the fact that available space, or lack thereof, made it anything but. The large amounts of furniture all shared a common trait in their burgundy color, and were complimented by the color of the walls; a contrast of red, starting bright in the center and darkening as it inched toward the ceiling and floor, finally reaching a crimson as they reached the borderline of those two destinations. Each had many paintings, all with Clovis' signature. From simple drawings of scenery to complex, imaginary drawings of his many family members, Clovis was a master of it all. One thing clearly worth noting was the fact that many of them included Lelouch in them, whether they were him as the child that Cornelia could still vividly remember or pictures of Lelouch at various stages of his life – particularly in his teenage years. There was one, however, that stood out.

Along the far wall there was a particular picture, one that clearly took in far more detail than any other. The throne of Britannia at the Britannia Palace was the center of the portrait, with the royal flag of Britannia spread across the wall directly behind it. The many members of the royal court were seated before it seemingly in applause, but none of that was the truly exceptional part; the part that stood out from everything else. What stood out from everything else was who was seated on the throne – a Lelouch of seemingly no older than twenty, a wide smirk on his face and the crown that belonged to their father resting firmly atop his head. Cornelia had to admit, it did look almost too fitting atop Lelouch's head. Were things not as they were now, Cornelia presumed that seeing this would have convinced her that Lelouch was to be the next Emperor... Perhaps there was still hope for that?

Continuing on, Cornelia came to a room that was much smaller, more than likely just an office or something of the sort. A desk and a few chairs in front of it served as nearly its sole occupancy, with a door opposite the one Cornelia had entered from with a window next to it telling her that it led out into the flower beds behind the palace. That aside, it was very much like the room before it in that color was a thing one couldn't avoid noticing; this time it was varying grays from a blank white at the ceiling and floors to a pitch black in the center, with the only divergence to this being the far wall held a small screen jutting out from it. A live comm network that had been set up at all the major locations in not only the Britannian homeland but also all of its areas; a risky move that could spell disaster if the right conditions should be met.

The desk's top was far more occupied than the room as a whole – a monitor was set in the center of it with a keyboard in front of it, a lamp was settled in the far left corner of the desk, and a small jar holding various writing utensils in the opposite corner. A workaholic's haven, which was strange seeing as Gabriella hadn't worked a single hour since being made one of the many unofficial concubines of the Emperor. On closer inspection a small slip of paper – a letter of some kind – was placed atop the keyboard, neatly unfolded. Tear markings that didn't exactly look age old were splotched all over it. Taking a seat at the desk Cornelia slowly ran her finger along the tear stains; unsurprisingly they were dry, but the thing worth noting was the many smaller splotches of tears. These weren't small, silent tears – they were from weeping. Considering that for only the briefest of moments, Cornelia settled onto the letter itself, which hadn't yet occurred to her. Tightly gripping it in her hands, she slowly began to read:

_October 14th, 2011 a.t.b._

_Its been a while since I last wrote, hasn't it? I truly wish I could have gotten back to the Viceroy's Palace to make this call directly, but the outbreaks in Kyushu are growing stronger still. Eleven terrorists have gone so far as to arm themselves with Knightmare Frames they have somehow stolen from our warehouses, and the fights are becoming massacres down there. I had no option but to go and quell the uprisings myself. Another ten thousand lives were lost unfortunately – almost all of them Britannian lives, heartlessly captured and put to death by the Elevens. Civilian or soldier, it didn't matter to them... they just wanted to get back for all we have done to them._

_But that is not the point for which I am writing this. And as much reason as we have to truly hate the Elevens, I can't help but ask myself: Why do we hate the Elevens? Are they terrorists with no seeming regard for life? Perhaps, yes, but I can agree that we were the same way when we invaded Japan. So have they really done anything wrong? Other than simply carrying the distinction of being an Eleven, have they done anything to be deserving of our hatred? I know I used Lelouch and Nunnally's losses to fuel my rage, to give myself meaning. _

_So imagine my surprise when Jorge comes to me from the vanguard of the returning unit today, carrying a raven haired boy with a scowl on his face and unmistakably reminiscent eyes who was spewing words of hate to any and all Britannians he saw? I was in disbelief at first as well, but there was no denying the simple fact. The hair, the piercing eyes... I was looking at my half-brother, Lelouch Vi Britannia. I honestly didn't know what to think. Should I be overjoyed to know my brother is alive? Should I feel bad, knowing that my only excuse for hating Elevens is gone? In the matter of a few seconds, the last year of my life was turned upside down._

_When he realized who I was, his eyes looked so scornful... he ended up passing out trying to escape from Jorge's grip to attack me. He looked almost pathetic in his weakened state, but he is a prideful person – I would never tell him so. I did the only thing I reasonably could at that moment, though – I intervened when Jorge tried to have the boy arrested, with the promise that I would take care of him personally. After all, what else should I have done? Lelouch was alive, very much so, and I wasn't about to let him go again._

_At this time Lelouch and Nunnally are here in the Viceroy's Palace with me, enjoying a night of entertainment that Jorge so kindly arranged. I know you never liked their mother, or them for that matter, but I felt I should tell you this. In a few days they will be departing – Lelouch has yet to tell me where or why, and I doubt he will tell me – but I still felt it was my obligation to tell you that they were alive. All Lelouch has said is that nobody can know he and Nunnally are alive. And so, I am kindly requesting that you keep this information to yourself. I cannot in good conscience hide this from you, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I were to fail to uphold Lelouch's request. I can't lose him again._

_Hopefully we will see a swift end to the terrorism here in Area 11 and I will find time to contact you at such a point in time, but you know that I can make no promises, mother. Truly I would like nothing more than to drop everything and return home, to be greeted warmly by you and all my other siblings that I have left behind. But as things stand, we both know I cannot do that._

_With love,_

_Your son, Clovis_

As her own tears fell upon the small letter, realization of why there had been tears on it in the first place dawned on Cornelia. She hadn't even realized she was crying until she finished the letter, and by that point only her hardened will kept her from entirely breaking down. To any onlooker – not that there were any – she looked completely pathetic, she figured. After all, she prided herself on being a strong woman all her life. In her current state, unable to do little more than cry and glare daggers at the letter for having made her cry, she was anything but the strong woman she had been made out to be over the years. The strong Cornelia faded away entirely for the briefest of moments, replaced instead with the soft side that any and all women had, no matter how strong they were.

_'Reading a letter written by your dead half-brother is rather hard,'_ Cornelia confessed, in the hopes of reasoning with herself that it was perfectly okay to be emotional in such a situation. And even though she had only herself to convince, she found herself failing in that area too. It didn't help matters that the letter in question was about Lelouch who, no matter how Cornelia looked at it, was to be blamed for Clovis' death. One could dare say Lelouch was innocent in the matter, however. After all, it was no secret that the Knight of Ten accidentally – although it being an accident was something that Cornelia questioned – struck the ship Clovis had been placed on after being captured by Lelouch. But Lelouch had started the conflict, which was what had lead to their half-brother's death in the first place.

An automated voice saying, "Incoming call," from seemingly all direction brought Cornelia back to reality. She looked over at the screen, now white with a faded emblem of Britannia in the background. In the corner a small icon very similar to the Order of the Black Knights emblem was flashing, and Cornelia recognized it immediately as one meaning the call was being made from the Viceroy's Palace. Euphemia? No, she would have simply called Cornelia's phone directly. But then, who else would have known Cornelia was visiting the Warrick Palace? She hadn't told anyone else, which meant that the only one possible would have been someone who could predict her movements... "Lelouch?" It was the only possible answer in Cornelia's eyes. She crossed from her seat over to the screen and pressed a button on the small keypad beneath the screen, and sure enough it was Lelouch's face that was revealed a moment later, in all of his piercing violet-eyed glory.

"Lelouch," Cornelia greeted, as coldly as she could manage at that moment.

"I knew you would be at the Warrick Palace," Lelouch responded, skipping any formality in returning her greeting. _'He's just as good at reading people as ever; he must know exactly how I feel.'_ Cornelia considered that for a brief moment, though the thought was kicked aside in order to make way for a more pressing issue.

"How did you know I would be here?"

"You would want to try to console Gabriella. Not that there is any point in trying."

Cornelia's muscles reflexively tensed as she narrowed her eyes, "And why is that?"

Lelouch frowned; frowned in a way that both annoyed Cornelia outright and confused her beyond all belief, "I have her here with me right now. She is being treated as any assassin would be, although I am trying to be lenient."

"Assassin?!" Cornelia gasped out harshly, disbelieving.

Sadness was apparent on Lelouch's face as he said, "She came running at me earlier this morning, a gun in hand, saying she would have revenge for Clovis' death. She never did like my mother, Nunnally or I, and Clovs said she never took his reacquainting with me well." He idly ran a hand through his hair and sighed, clearly uncomfortable with current progression of topic. "She isn't fully sane. Though she is in captivity, I have allowed for her to be imprisoned here at the Viceroy's Palace and for Euphemia to go see her. Not that anything can come of it."

"She always liked Euphemia!" Cornelia vehemently protested, slamming a fisted hand against the wall next to the screen. "If anyone can right her, it is Euphemia."

"My methods of dealing with her left whether or not she likes Euphemia a distant issue." Killing two birds with one stone was a useful action to take at some moments, like this one, for example. With that thought in mind Lelouch went on, "All she cares about is making sure nobody harms me."

Cornelia raised an eyebrow – an overly skeptical, perhaps disbelieving, eyebrow. "... What?"

It was then that Lelouch swept his hand across his eyes, revealing that in the place of piercing violet eyes were deep eyes of mixed violet and crimson, the bird-shaped sigil of Geass flaring deep within. The eyes had their desired effect on Cornelia as they had on all others, leaving Cornelia unable to do anything but gape helplessly at Lelouch's eyes as he stated, "I ordered her to never allow harm to come to me."

"Ordered her to..." And like all others before her, Cornelia found coherent speech as she tried to register this clearly impossible, clearly surreal scenario into her mind nigh impossible.

Lelouch nodded. His eyes were unreadable, as if veiled by the crimson laced within their original violet hues. That wasn't a complete farce, really. "That is the power of Geass," he said at last, lifting a hand and pointing toward his eyes. "The power of Absolute Obedience. You can put two and two together." His tone was sardonic, a rare occurrence for the either very arrogant, delicately snide, or entirely indifferent Lelouch. Were he any less any of those three things, he probably would have been smirking at that moment.

Cornelia's mind was swirling far too much for her to comprehend any such things, and so instead she simply forced out, "An absolute order?" rather angrilly. At Lelouch's nod, nonchallant in manner and quite carefree, she tried to go on, "Then..."

"People have no memory of what takes place when my Geass' order is active. If anyone has any such blanks in their memory, they have been effected. As for the order itself, it is, well, absolute. No matter what the consequences, this order will take priority so long as it is within the person's ability to carry it out. This order takes priority over everything, including self preservation and other such necessities. That is the extent of my power."

Anger was an evident factor still in Cornelia's softening features as she replied quietly, "And Clovis, was he..."

And to her overwhelming relief, Lelouch shook his head. He took a very moment to sweep his hand across his eyes and replace the crimson mess that was bit by bit chipping away at Cornelia's nerves with the piercing violet eyes that were capable of much the same thing, although Cornelia was able to avoid any such reaction to the normal violet hues of his eyes. That being done he said, "He did fall victim to Geass, although it wasn't my own."

Relief and worry were one and the same for the briefest of moments until Cornelia stuttered out, "W-what?"

"_He_ has Geass too." When Cornelia raised an eyebrow Lelouch clarified, "Charles has Geass. That was what caused the sudden change in Clovis. I haven't figured out how just yet."

"Father did that to Clovis?!" Lelouch simply nodded. "But father, he..."

"It isn't a surprise that he doesn't care about us, Cornelia," Lelouch noted, too bluntly for Cornelia's tastes. Sure, she knew as well as any that the children were no higher up in their father's eyes than any other living, breathing human being. All were treated with the same level of indifference to him, which could either be seen as a very noble thing or a horribly disheartening thing. For the children who were treated as no better than acquaintances to him, it was the latter. "I tried to save him, Cornelia, I really did. But Clovis was, to the end, a tool to get to me."

"That is like father, indeed," Cornelia replied without really thinking about it. But as she looked back on what she had just said, she found that she couldn't really deny the truth in her own words.

"Given that, I would like to propose a ceasefire. Both sides are tired and, in your case, broken apart. Continued fighting will turn this conflict into another variation of the Second Pacific War, and even I wouldn't be able to stop Area 11 from becoming a three-way battleground." It was a simply genuine gesture on Lelouch's part, really. But deep down Cornelia knew that there were machinations at work to use this development to his advantage. What did Lelouch – chaotic, destructive Lelouch – have to gain from peace? He had long since proved he was a man who thrived in wartime, although Lelouch hadn't been given a chance to play his hand at peace.

"What does this ceasefire have for me to gain?" Cornelia asked carefully.

"Mt. Fuji and with it the Sakuradite mines within are under the authority of the Empire of China, and with that we have power over its distribution. Seeing as Britannia is our enemy, it would be a shame if Britannia were charged far higher rates or, worse yet, were simply cut out from said distribution," Lelouch smirked as shock settled onto Cornelia's face, and his eyes told all too vividly that Lelouch was loving the situation at hand.

"You would bribe me with a natural resource? Are you aware of the consequences of such an action? Even nations on extremities with Britannia would oppose the Empire of China for something like that!" Cornelia shot back hotly. Unsurprisingly, Lelouch's expression didn't change.

"All of our Britannian prisoners, among them one Villeta Nu, will be released without consequence. How does that sound?"

"That is a standard obligation in peace talks, Lelouch. You cannot honestly expect me to agree to terms including such obligations."

"I have no obligation to return a potential weapon," Lelouch responded calmly, though he was suppressing a laugh at Cornelia's discomfort.

"A weapon? Villeta Nu is a human being! She is a soldier! She --"

"-- Villeta Nu possesses a Geass. As such, she can be considered a weapon to a nation in which knowledge of Geass is widespread."

Cornelia's eyes showed a shock rarely seen as she tried to will her nerves to a calm, saying slowly, "Very well. Then if you will return Mt. Fuji as well, I will accept."

"And I refuse to do any such thing," Lelouch stated quickly, shaking his head and tutting in an almost scolding manner. "Mt. Fuji is an important resource. Though I have been granted authority in affairs pertaining to Area 11, the Mt. Fuji matter is one to be settled with the Empress. Furthermore, I require Mt. Fuji to move this world toward the next stage."

"It is nothing more than a Sakuradite resource! Surely even Sakuradite cannot do such a thing," Cornelia scoffed, appalled by the very notion.

"I can create miracles, Cornelia. Now sit still, gather whatever answers about the Geass you wish – I assure you that you will find none that will matter to me – and wait for me to change this world."

o--o

Ashford Academy had been put into an indefinite lockdown with the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of its superintendent's granddaughter, graduated or not. She still considered the academy her home after all, and the academy still considered her its oh so revered resident. With that fact common knowledge, it wasn't questioned why her disappearance warranted the shutdown of the entire academy. The Ashford family had busied themselves with using every bit of their influence to reach out in search of their last hope for their return to nobility and, with it, the other such trivial things that came with it. They didn't so much care about Milly herself as they cared about the impact her loss would have on their plans, really.

Not that these plans truly were trivial, or anything of the sort. Indeed they were noble in their own selfish way, and surely idealistic. But to a group of students who had just recently been released from captivity aboard an airship that had prided itself in the fear it struck into Britannians, well... needless to say, such things as nobility were hardly at the forefront of their minds. What was wealth and nobility to death and conquest, anyway? While the Ashford family was trying for nobility, that was exactly what Lelouch was doing. He was leading an army in a war of questionable morals while Milly was being forced into engagement talks in the hopes of being placed in the noble ranks and, with her, her entire family would follow. This had never sat well with her of course, but she had come to accept it as an inevitability that she would never escape the reality of it all until the welcomed it with open arms.

But now, she really wasn't sure. Was it fair of her to be thinking of such things when Lelouch was sacrificing everything – and everyone – to change the world? Was it fair to be trying for something as petty as nobility when Lelouch – a noble, even without his princehood – was casting aside such trivial things for what should really matter? What bothered Milly the most was that, unlike her usual confident self, she was hardly sure at that moment. She wasn't sure which was more important – her own selfish needs, or Lelouch's self-sacrifice. It both made her feel disgusted and relieved at the same time – after all, thinking that Lelouch killing countless people was a matter of dire importance was simply wrong. But then, so was ignoring your friend's plight for your own needs or, worse yet, your family's overly selfish needs.

The school was abuzz with activity as the transport vehicle driven by none other than Tamaki Shinichiro pulled up by the school's large front entrance, the disgruntled driver mumbling something under his breath in an irritated manner as he pressed the unlock button on the panel on his door, giving a thumbs up over his shoulder to signal that it was okay for the passengers to step out. One by one the students filed out of the vehicle – Rivalz, looking almost too happy to be back, then Shirley, looking overly distant and depressed, and the Milly and Nina, both engaged in something of a conversation of their own. As a large group of students rushed over to greet them Tamaki stepped out as well, pulling a dark viser over his face to keep it hidden from view, lest he be recognized for who he was. He handed off a large bag to Milly who took it gratefully, and then disappeared into the vehicle and took off before he could be likewise assailed by students.

"President!" It seemed as though every single student chimed that one word in perfect unison, but there were simply so many of them that nobody could really be sure. It took a rather interesting maneuver of using Rivalz as a bulldozer slash baseball bat to get through the masses, finding arms clinging to them in various places along the way, but Milly and the rest managed to break through and make for the entranceway in little over three minutes – not bad for a trip that should have taken a matter of a minute at most. Unfortunately the hallways of the academy weren't much better, although the lack of free space spared them from having any hitchhikers hanging onto their limbs as they went. The superintendent's temporary office was reached only a few minutes later, a declared safe zone from the ecstatic students.

But a mousetrap of doom was sprung as Milly was swiftly pulled into the embrace of her grandfather, Ruben Ashford.

"Milly! I... you...!" Attempt number one at coherent speech: failed.

"Good to see you too," Milly wrenched herself almost forcefully out of his grasp and stared at her grandfather for a long moment, reading his expressions. _'As I thought,'_ it took her only a moment to see what she had so desperately hoped not to see in his eyes, but upon seeing it she knew she was no different than she had been upon her disappearance. She was still the same Milly Ashford, last hope for the Ashford family's return to fame and nobility. "I am going to go lay down." Deflated, she set the large bag on the ground and pushed her way by Ruben, crossing into the adjoined room with two beds and an otherwise bland appearance, where she collapsed onto one of the small beds, groaning loudly. "Why can't he... ugh."

"... Ugh?"

Milly looked up, seeing the timid glasses-wearing girl that was Nina standing in the doorway. She was idly fidgeting with her sleeves as she approached the bed in more of a skip than an actual walk. She looked down hesitantly at Milly and said, "I... I wanted to talk to you." She glanced back at the doorway, "... In private."

"Talk to me?" Milly raised an eyebrow, not entirely comprehending the necessity of such a thing. Especially when this was clearly a private matter and their current situation was hardly one that warranted private conversations.

As Milly slowly sat up Nina nodded, hopping from foot to foot and rubbing her hands together as she said shyly, "You're strong. You know what you want, but I..." She ultimately trailed off, and she had to calm her nerves with a deep breath before continuing, "I don't want to sit around and do nothing. We saw what is happening outside of Ashford and I... I want to help."

"You want to help? Help who?" Milly didn't want to admit it, but she was well aware that she was holding her breath, waiting for Nina to answer. She was almost afraid of what the answer would be.

Nina's expression read fear and anxiety as she dug into her pocket, pulling out a small folded piece of paper that she thrust at Milly, urging her to read it. Milly slowly did so, taking great amount of shock in the schematics – effective ones at that. From plans to use Uranium-235 – as rare as it was – as a fuel to plans to use Sakuradite as a possible means to make a new kind of grenade with a far larger blast radius, she had thought of unimaginable lengths in technological developments that left Milly stunned.

"At first, I wanted to use those to... well, to help Britannia. To fight Zero, to fight terrorists. But..."

"You don't want to hurt Lelouch, is that it?"

"It isn't that – well I don't but..." Nina cleared her throat and tried again, "I saw... We saw what Lelouch is trying to do. Even if he's doing it the wrong way, he's doing the right thing. And besides, Britannia is..."

"They certainly aren't as noble as we have been led to believe," Milly agreed with a nod of her head.

"Yes." Nina took a seat beside Milly, taking back the paper she'd handed over and giving the 81/2 by 11 a once over. While the sheer complexity of it all was otherworldly and absolutely incomprehensible to Milly, Nina seemed to be making perfect sense of it all. Her face wrinkled as she went over a certain part, a telltale sign that she wasn't entirely certain about some aspect of something. With a sigh she looked up, going on, "Lelouch has turned the world upside down with his rebellion. As it is now, the only means that will solve anything is more fighting, and peaceful means are hopeless endeavors. But if I can help Lelouch, then maybe..."

"We can stop the fighting," Milly finished the statement for her. She had to admit, the plan – flawed though it was – had its merits. With such a move, they could help Lelouch as Milly felt they should, and at the same time do so without acknowledging or accepting his means. It was, in essence, a heaven sent opportunity that had Milly's insides bubbling with joy. As much joy as could be had, anyway. With that thought in mind she nodded eagerly, stating, "Whatever help you need, I'm here. I want to do something too."

Rivalz's prompt arrival with Shirley trailing behind, still lost in her own rather depressing thoughts ruined the moment at hand as he stepped into the room, oblivious to the rather serious air as he asked casually, "What are you two talking about?" Nina and Milly shared a brief look and Nina nodded, giving the okay for Milly to explain. Noticing her reluctance to speak however led Rivalz to add, "Your grandfather took off. Told us to tell you he's sorry, for whatever he did wrong."

Milly gave a brief nod as she said, quite calmly, "We were talking about Lelouch," without really thinking about it.

Rivalz raised his eyebrows as he replied, "What about him?"

"Nina wants to help him. And I want to help her," Milly stated with a shrug of her shoulders, suddenly acting as though the decision made perfect sense. Which to her, it did. Such was the natural confidence she typically displayed.

Rivalz raised eyebrows weren't lowered as he asked carefully, "Help him?" At Nina's shy nod, Rivalz began contemplating the matter for himself. Sure, his relationship with Lelouch nowadays was rocky at best, but they had sword to continue being friends. Should he be willing to help Lelouch, then? A part of him was screaming to say no, to crawl back into his small hole of normality that was his Ashford school life and forget everything that had happened. But a larger part of him, the part of him that was actually maturing and the part of him that knew better than to follow Britannia's example and kick his problems under a rug cried out to help Lelouch. With a newfound Milly-like confidence he said, "I'm in."

Nina's expression was shocked to say the least, and she waved her hands frantically in front of her, the paper in her hand flying free and settling on the ground. "I can't let you do that, Rivalz! I..."

"You are probably the only one that can do anything, yes," Shirley agreed, coming out of her hollow shell to join the conversation at last. "But we all saw what was out there. None of us can sit still anymore. We all need to do something."

"She's right," Rivalz went on, reaching back and patting Shirley on the back, grinning his usual goofy grin that had been missed dearly due to recent events. "This isn't something just one of us can do. Its all of us or none of us – that sounded really corny, didn't it?"

Milly grinned, "It did."

Rivalz chuckled sheepishly, "Yeah, well..." Shirley coughed slightly and he stopped abruptly, scratching his cheek absently as he said, "Anyway, we are going to help you Nina, whether you like it or not!"

Nina smiled slightly, though it was obvious she was straining herself to manage even that. "I... Thank you, everyone."

o--o

"I, Lelouch Lamperouge, order you... to die!" The commanding voice of Lelouch resonated through the foyer of the Viceroy's Palace, calm and collected even in the moment it delivered such a command as that. The soldiers before him, their guns raised and eyes narrowed, immediately calmed upon hearing that order. One by one they nodded and they turned on eachother and opened fire, sending blood streaming out in all directions. Beside Lelouch stood Rolo, panting heavily as he fell forward, pressing one hand to his knee and the other to his heart.

"L-lelouch... I..." Rolo stuttered, trying to gather his breath.

"I know," Lelouch replied warmly, turning to Rolo as he replaced the contacts in his eyes. "I've seen what your Geass does to you. Take care when using it."

"For you, I don't care what it does to me."

"No," Suzaku stated coldly, joining the two with a rifle slung over his shoulder, blood covering his combat suit. C.C. stood beside him, covered in a similar manner, although her weapon of choice was simply a handgun. "You are no good to us dead. As useful as you are, it isn't worth dying for."

Lelouch nodded, "It is as Suzaku said. You are worth nothing dead, Rolo. We – no, I – need you alive."

Rolo nodded eagerly, "Yes, Lelouch."

With the small matter of Rolo's willingness to die settled Lelouch turned to C.C., asking, "Has Xingke cleared out the west wing?"

"He finished just before we got here. There weren't more than two squads' worth over there."

Lelouch fell into deep thought for a flickering moment, "Then Schneizel is anticipating us breaking through the men he has stationed here. There are more waiting in the city." He pulled out his phone and raced through his speed dials before pressing it to his ear, "Ogi, proceed with Plan B. ... Yes, Schneizel was counting on this, and no I don't know why he's attacking. ... Yes, you are right. We will have to keep an eye on him."

"Well?" Suzaku pressed.

"Ogi will be making his way toward sector C-5. We have to meet him there. Until then, its only us."

Any further comments were cut off with the sudden shout of, "There they are! Don't let the Traitor Prince escape!"

"Lelouch, go. I --"

"-- _I_ will be right here. C.C., take everyone and make your way to sector C-5. Suzaku, Karen, I trust you to clean up out there. Rolo, don't overwork yourself."

"Don't keep us waiting, Lelouch."

As the rest ran off, leaving Lelouch to stand face to face with a squad of fifteen soldiers alone, all he could do was laugh. It was all too reminiscent of the day he had first been blessed – or cursed – with Geass. It was the day his life had changed, and it was the spark that began the spiral of change now engulfing the entire world. His laugh was bitter as all these thoughts came to mind but Lelouch paid that no heed, advancing casually toward the soldiers.

"Y-you! You are a cocky one, Lelouch Vi Britannia! Die!" the squad captain cried, bringing his rifle to a ready position. The other fourteen soldiers followed suit quickly.

"Tell me," Lelouch drawled, smirking. "I was born Lelouch Vi Britannia, though I have lived as Lelouch Lamperouge. Who am I?"

The captain laughed as he pointed at Lelouch with his free hand, saying, "You are playing games and telling us riddles? Zero is nothing more than a trickster!"

"Is that so? Then let me show you..." Lelouch swept his hand across his eyes and removed the contacts. "The true extent of Zero's miracles. Die!"

The captain froze for a moment before nodding, pointing his rifle to his chest and stating calmly, "As you wish." And with that, all the soldiers opened fire, taking themselves out in a manner as reminiscent of the beginning of his rebellion as the occurrence as a whole had been. In their wake Lelouch laughed loudly, watching the soldiers crumple to the ground in a pool of their own blood. In a strange way it was fulfilling, watching the people that had taken Clovis from him pay in such a manner.

"This blood is on your hands, Britannia."

The battle beyond the Viceroy's Palace, in the streets of the Tokyo Settlement was just as bloody, although it was far more difficult. Lelouch's orders that Rolo be careful when using his Geass held true, and the battle came down to Suzaku and Karen's overwhelming prowess that kept them going. Every now and then Rolo would use his Geass to stall a couple soldiers, but the squads flooding in from all sides – first numbering fifteen, then forty, and then count was lost entirely – made the effectiveness of his assistance limited. As Suzaku took cover behind a large business office, he waved a hand to call C.C. over, who strolled over nonchallantly, taking the couple bullets that hit her in stride and without so much as a brief pause. "What?" she asked impatiently, twirling her handgun in her left hand and tapping her foot.

"Did Lelouch do anything about the civilians in the area?" Suzaku asked, worry etched into his troubled features.

"He used his Geass to get them out of the way. People are in the top floors of the buildings here," as she said that, C.C. waved her free hand above her, gesturing to the buildings around them.

Suzaku raised an eyebrow quizzically as he asked incredulously, "Was that necessary?"

"They are Britannian," C.C. stated, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, the order allows them to come down when there is no danger."

Suzaku peered around the corner and opened fire as he shouted over the booming sound of gunfire, "Lelouch really has changed, hasn't he?"

"He is doing what is necessary."

"But this much bloodshed..." More rounds were fired off and more soldiers fell, the subsequent pools of blood augmenting Suzaku's sour mood. "It seems excessive."

"I thought you had accepted these things. Lelouch needs you," C.C. shot back, taking down a couple stragglers that were beyond the extent of Suzaku's range.

"Just as the world needs Lelouch. I betrayed my convictions, and I have forsaken the memory of those I hold dear. My bond with Lelouch is all I have left." With that Suzaku charged forward, careless of the sheer overwhelming odds he faced. C.C. was close behind, her handgun hardly a useful substitute for Suzaku's rifle and shocking reflexes. "Why do you fight?" Suzaku asked randomly as he slid to a halt where the wall of a building pushed out further, acting as a shield of sorts.

"Just as he needs me, I need Lelouch," C.C. replied bluntly, blindly firing around the barricade they had taken up. The surprised cries of people being hit by bullets answered the unasked question of whether or not there was any merit in such a stunt.

Suzaku's interest was piqued as the cries seemed to suddenly worsen and, braving all, he peered his head around the barricade to look. To his disgust and confusion some of the soldiers had opened fire on the rest, turning the situation into a mess that left Suzaku, C.C. and the rest completely forgotten. And in the midst of the confusion was the reason for the confusion in its entirety. There stood Ogi, Minami and the rest, smirking. And at their head was Lelouch, his Geass blazing as he laughed, waving a hand to usher everyone over.

"If anyone could do something like this in good conscience, it is him," Suzaku sighed as he stepped out from his hiding place, traversing the maze of soldiers fighting amongst themselves until he had reached Lelouch who, without a single word, replaced his contacts and turned on his heel, talking to Ogi briefly before they took off. Suzaku followed close behind, silent as Lelouch and Ogi talked about the situation at hand, listening intently. It was a despairing situation to be in, that much was sure. All major roads were blocked off by Britannian soldiers, and the only path back was the one Ogi had already cleared, and even then they were sure to be attacked – perhaps from all sides – by the Britannian soldiers at some point in time.

And yet, Lelouch was perfectly calm. With a Geass like his, it was hard not to be, Suzaku mused.

"How many do we have on hand?" he heard Lelouch ask.

"Less than one hundred. Todo is still busy invading the Mt. Fuji mines, and we needed to maintain a defensive presence in the Kyoto and Gifu areas. This is all we could manage," Ogi replied, absently giving his rifle a once over as they walked.

"No, that is fine," Lelouch replied, digging his hands into his pockets casually. "If we had any more than that we would draw attention."

"With this many, we can hardly defend ourselves. We will be relying too heavily on your's and Rolo's Geasses, and we you said yourself that we shouldn't use them in the open more than necessary," Ogi replied, unexpectedly insightful into the situation. A small crack of something beneath their feet served as a brief pause before he went on, "We should at least call in enough to defend ourselves with weapons alone."

Lelouch shook his head, "I would rather us take the risk than us call in more men and give Britannia a reason to back out of the ceasefire. Solidifying our control over Mt. Fuji is a matter of too great importance to allow us to be distracted by Britannia's advances."

"And what of Xingke's squad?"

"They were on their way to sector A-4 where Hong Gu was waiting for them. Unless they ran into an unexpected delay, they have already escaped," Suzaku put in. To say he was annoyed with being left out of the conversation was an understatement.

"Didn't you have contact with him, C.C.?" Ogi asked, looking back at the witch with an imperceptible look.

"He was fine when I talked to him," was all C.C. was willing to say in reply, her riddling nature making a surprise comeback. Suzaku raised an eyebrow in her direction but said nothing – his raised eyebrow spoke volumes of his irritation.

"Xingke is fine," Lelouch stated with no small measure of certainty, his voice carrying a definitive authority that brought undeniable truth to his words. Even though he had no idea whether or not Xingke truly was fine, and they all knew it.

A few moments later, their attention was drawn away from the subject at hand and rather to the barricade of armed Britannian soldiers waiting for them at the far end of the side street upon which they had been walking.

"Lelouch, should you..."

"This far out," Lelouch started, fingering his eye lightly. "I am certain there are going to be others hiding around, waiting for me to slip up so they can explain to Schneizel what it is I have. We need to break through here using force."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

"Suzaku, Ogi, you two take cover behind the Biglobe Offices. C.C., Kallen, you two provide cover for them. Rolo, you come with me. The rest is up to us," Lelouch waved his hands in the direction of two different ideal points – one behind a large building surrounded by much foliage that had managed to survive by way of proper sunlight, and another further back where a mixture of foliage and stone extending from the adjacent wall in small points that provided cover for all but one's lower body.

"Hey, Lelouch?" Suzaku started hesitantly. "We finally have a moment's peace. We should... return to Ashford."

o--o

"The Avalon approaches from the east! Three miles off!"

Kanon jumped to his feet, dropping the papers in his hand as he whirled around in an about-face, his hair flying every which way and settling in an untidy mess framing his face. The soldier in front of him raised an eyebrow questioningly though he said nothing, simply saluting before taking off. Kanon took a moment to pat down the hair to either side of his head, a makeshift job at tidying the unsalvageable mess. The sun's glare upon him was fierce at that particular moment despite the harsh cold of the air, and a reflexive response was to draw down the zipper on the wool coat he wore. The brisk air assailed him seemingly from all sides, chilling him to the bone nearly immediately, and he pulled the zipper back up again, shrugging off the slight warming sensation the sunlight provided.

"Shall we prepare for His Highness' arrival, Sir?" another soldier – Private Lekain, if Kanon's memory served – asked. He was built like the average bodybuilder, muscular to the point where it may not be an exaggeration to say he could crush you in the palm of his hand. His green eyes held a world weary look and his short brown hair was wild and messy, much like the long beard upon his chin. He'd been praised on several occasions for his valor in battle and his natural skill with a Knightmare Frame, and it was a wonder to Kanon that he hadn't yet been promoted. After all, he had been on the battlefield fighting the E.U. since the conflict began a year past.

"Make sure the flags are in order and that the prisoners have all been transferred. I will greet His Highness personally," Kanon replied, giving Lekain a small smile and a glance from the corner of his eye. Lekain swiftly saluted and took his wordless departure, leaving Kanon alone with the high pitched whistling of the wind. High above the Avalon fast approached, slowly descending toward the empty roadstrip that Kanon had ensured would be provided for its landing, parting the clouds to either side of it as it went. The thought briefly crossed Kanon's mind that the temperature must have been unbearable so high up, but he didn't allow it to linger.

It was only moments later that Kanon was forced to step aside to make way for the Avalon – the massive airship nearly striking buildings with its wings as it settled onto the ground. The stairs leading from the airship's doorway was lowered and out stepped Schneizel, Lloyd standing closely behind him with a goofy grin on his face. The two made their way down the stairs and Kanon locked eyes with Schneizel, who gave a devious smile and a nod in Kanon's direction. "Kanon," he greeted neutrally, making his way over to his assistant with a purposeful stride. The look on his face told Kanon the answers to all the questions he had wanted to ask, however.

"I trust your own battle went well, Your Highness?" Kanon saluted, rather embarrassed to have forgotten the formality initially.

"Indeed. And I see your's went without incident," Schneizel sighed wistfully, piquing Kanon's interest. "Father is too opinionated for his own good. He really is missing out."

"Your Highness?"

"People like you, Kanon," Schneizel stated, laughing slightly. "Very talented people right under the Emperor's nose, and yet he misses them because of the smallest things."

The wind grew harsher still, bringing the conversation to a momentary standstill as everyone fought to keep themselves warm. The papers Kanon had previously dropped – casualty listings and the like – lay scattered all around, some missing entirely as they got carried away with the wind. It was lucky on Kanon's part that the reports had also been placed on a spare disk as well, else there would have been many a man or woman who's family never knew they died.

"And what of the E.U.?" Kanon asked as soon as the sudden gust had exhausted itself.

"They have retreated from the area entirely. Their only defensive position left is the one at El Alamein, and they will bolster all of their forces there. With the exception of parts of Africa, my ancestors' homeland is all they have left, and El Alamein is their only hope. If we can defeat their forces there, we can move onto the next stage." Schneizel turned on his heel to walk away and Kanon hastily fell into step with him, side by side with Lloyd. "Did the Panzer-Hummel corps here provide you with any trouble?"

"None moreso than could be expected, given the resources and troops with which I was supplied. I was unable to avoid an onslaught, however."

"That is unfortunate, but it is a part of war. We will have time later to make amends for it."

"And what of the attempt to capture Lelouch?"

"Thwarted, as could be expected. But he did slip up."

"Oh?"

"Whatever he has, it can twist the minds of people." Schneizel gave Kanon a stern look, one that belied the inner fear he truly had for this mysterious otherworldly power. A power they couldn't begin to fathom the depths of. "Elbert Colsair, one of the most dedicated soldiers I've ever seen, dead by his own hand."

"Are you saying that he escaped by making our soldiers kill _themselves_?"

"Exactly that."

Kanon chuckled, disturbingly unaffected by the possible truth to those words, "Then it would do us well to discover this power, would it not?"

Schneizel likewise chuckled, "Our plans are priority, however. The E.U. is not an ideal place to carry out our plans, but I shall allow Lelouch to have the ideal one. Such things are insignificant."

Lloyd piped in, "Lelouch is far stronger than we anticipated."

Kanon nodded in agreement, "It is important that we not allow him to have too many advantages."

With a shake of his head Schneizel calmly stated, "We must allow him to have whatever he wishes. That way when we defeat him, he will realize his folly. This is not just for Nunnally, but for all the world. Lelouch will destroy this world if left alone, but will simply arise again unless he is crushed when he has done everything he could."

A small building stood before them as they came to a sudden halt. No more than two stories high, it appeared to be a home for little more than a family of four or five. The interior showed a truth that was far from it. Already many computers had been set up and many a Britannian soldier was working furiously on the work they had been assigned, every now and then looking away from the computer screens and at a piece of paper to the side of said screen. The room was provided with no light except for the small amount of sunlight coming in from the doorway and the glare provided by the computer screens.

"What is the progress at, Lloyd?" Schneizel asked, peering over his shoulder at his scientist.

"The schematics will be done before the day is up!" Lloyd replied cheerily. Then, raising a finger he went on, "The technology has been much harder to deal with though. No matter what we do, it just isn't suitable for just anyone. Only an ace level pilot would be able to make use of it."

"That is most unfortunate," Schneizel sighed. "Time is of the essence, so see to it that if you find a solution it is tested soon."

Lloyd nodded and took off, stealing a glance at each of the computer screens before turning a corner and leaving Schneizel's view, presumably to check on whatever he had ordered be set up in the basement. Kanon made to follow but Schneizel held out a hand to stop him, shaking his head.

"Your Highness?" Kanon questioned softly, an eyebrow arching.

"You and I will return to the Avalon. Leave Lloyd to his work." Then, in a far more sly tone, almost cinical, he added, "We need to finish preparations for our own move."

o--o

"Today we will be studying the _Oriental Incident_... Can anyone tell me what sparked this development?"

_'Another day, another lesson,'_ was all Rivalz had to comment on the subject. To say he was bored would be far from the truth. In actuality, he had been paying more attention in class on this particular day than on any since the year began. But as always, his mind still found a way to be elsewhere – today, his mind was busy wondering what Nina would be doing. She had not come to class that day, after all. Perhaps she had wanted to get a head start on her research? Rivalz, for one, didn't understand why. They had only returned yesterday! As serious as the situation in the world was, they would be betraying their obligation as teenagers if all they cared about was work!

And it was with that similar thought that he took to the day's lesson with a detached attitude. He listened intently, though he made no astounding effort to commit any of what he heard to memory, nor did he try to write anything down. He had never been a writer anyway, often looking to his classmates for what he may have missed during a long winded speech the teacher had delivered. More often than not he found himself with more homework involving simply copying what others had written than actually completing work assigned at the end of any given class. He wasn't an underachiever by any means. Rather, he was left with such little time after copying everything else that completing assigned work was a distant dream.

Now, had this been any day prior to being aboard the Hogosha, he surely would not have been paying as much attention as he was. He would not be listening so intently that, had he wanted to, he would have been perfectly capable of writing everything he heard without any trouble whatsoever. And he certainly wouldn't have noticed the class debate about the _Oriental Incident_ come to a sudden halt. He actually took the time to lift his eyes when this happened, and was shocked to see the teacher gesturing toward the door as he said, "We will be having a few students returning to our class today. I sorely wish they would have been on time, however."

_'No... No. Way.'_

The door opened then, and in strode Lelouch, with Suzaku and Karen in tow. Lastly was C.C., dressed in a black uniform oddly reminiscent of a Black Knight's uniform, but at the same time entirely different. A small black cap with golden trimmings kept much of her long hair at bay, and the black uniform on her body was outfitted with thick padding and much in the way of lavish golden trimmings, gold buttons very similar to the ones in the corners of the chest on the Ashford school uniforms lining the center much as well as sporting many red designs up and down the arms. Lastly, strapped to her side was a longsword, and on the side opposite was a handgun. Only then did Rivalz realize that she was dressed the part of Lelouch's bodyguard, a fact which almost brought a chuckle from Rivalz.

Similarly, Lelouch was dressed differently than the other Ashford students. While his school uniform appeared to be the same, there were several differences. Rather than being buttoned in the corners of the chest like the normal uniforms, buttons ran down the center. At the hem along the back it extended an additional few inches, creating a small cape that reached the back of his knees. The shoulders were broader, and golden embroidery lined the arms as well as the front of the pants of his uniform. It was a far more regal take on the school uniform, one all too fitting of someone of his standing, he reasoned.

"Please welcome Kallen Stadtfeld, Suzaku Kururugi and Lelouch Lamperouge as well as their bodyguard and Lelouch's cousin, Miriam Lamperouge. I'm sure you are all aware of why they were away, but at any rate they have returned," the teacher drawled. The look on his face betrayed his seeming indifference, and he too was fighting with himself to avoid asking the question everyone surely wanted to ask. "They will be attending here for a short while under the approval of the superintendent himself, who has demanded that they be treated as normal students. Understood?"

A female student further to the back swiftly rose his hand, as everyone expected someone to, and asked innocently, "Are terrorists aloud to attend school?"

It was a simple enough question, and it was asked seriously, but all the same it took only a few moments for the room to burst out in uncontrollable laughter. The only people not laughing were the three students and bodyguard in question and the teacher himself, who seemed rather embarrassed by it all. Leaning over from behind the desk he stood behind he murmured, "Don't pay them any heed. We're glad to have you here."

"You mean you're glad to have my financial support in expanding the Academy," Lelouch whispered back knowingly. The teacher stiffened and straightened immediately, slamming a hand down on his desk to silence the room.

"Let us try questions that _aren't_ both moronic and incorrect, shall we?" he demanded harshly.

"No," another student stood up – a male, with long auburn hair and dull grey eyes and no striking features whatsoever save for a bit of acne splotching his cheeks. "I believe that is a very good question. Be they terrorists soldiers of the Empire of China, they are Britannia's most wanted enemies. Answer the question, please."

Suzaku nodded, "Very well --"

Lelouch interjected with a smug smile, "It is just like a Britannian to shun away his enemies."

The student in question lost his cool rather quickly, much to Lelouch's amusement. "Why you...!"

"Your Governor, Cornelia Li Britannia, and I have declared a ceasefire. One of the terms we agreed upon would be that we would not be restricted to the parts of Area 11 that each side controls," Lelouch explained. With a defeated nod the student took his seat and a few chuckles followed, at his expense. "Next?" Lelouch pressed.

"You are," a heated glare from Lelouch got the student in question to reword himself, "You _were_ a Britannian prince, correct? Why then did you..."

Lelouch obliged him, though only because he was reasonably surprised that he hadn't yet been jumped. The students were way more calm than he had anticipated they would be, he had to admit. "There are several reasons I won't explain, but the simple answer is that I was not pleased with Britannia."

"Why is that?"

"Britannia is wrong. It is as simple as that," Lelouch declared. To emphasize the fact that he would answer no more questions he made for the stairs ascending through the rows and rows of seats, finally taking a seat near the top with Karen and Suzaku to his right and C.C. to his left. Throughout the class many people stole glances in his direction, but he pretended to not notice and directed his attention instead to the teacher, who likewise kept his eye on Lelouch throughout the lesson. Never had he felt so objectified than on that day, with everyone looking at him as though he were a caged animal that, given incentive, would stop at nothing to harm them.

When class was over students were swarming around Lelouch, eagerly asking him questions as though he were their long lost best friend. As irony had it Suzaku played his bodyguard as they fought their way through the masses, kicking and swatting every step of the way. Eventually students realized the futility in trying to break through the impregnable wall that was Suzaku and gave up, giving the foursome a rather safe trip to their next class. Karen parted ways after Advanced Mathematics, but luckily for Lelouch Suzaku had rather forcefully ensured his schedule mirrored Lelouch's. C.C. watched all this with nearly too much amusement, and by the time the four of them had reached the building Lelouch had rented out for them in the depths of the Tokyo Settlement after school, a well timed order of pizza – courtesy of Lelouch – was the only thing that kept her from breaking down in a fit of laughter.

The three-story house was a rather impressive one. The ground floor consisted of a rather large kitchen – complete with just about all the essentials any cook could need, bought with the promise that Lelouch would be the one to use them – with an adjoined dining room and a spacious seating area with a large TV screen embedded in the far wall. This room was by far the largest on the ground floor, covering over half of the entire floor. Doorways at either end led to the dining room or the kitchen, connected by small hallways.

The second floor held all of the bedrooms – six in all. The master bedroom had been promised to Lelouch for obvious reasons, and for equally obvious reasons C.C. had rather obstinately stated that she would be staying with him. The other five rooms had gone to Rolo, Nunnally, Jeremiah and Sayoko, Suzaku, and Karen respectively. There was a spare room next to the master bedroom with a small TV and a couch that could be pulled out, in case there should ever come a time when they'd have another person lodging with them. It wasn't the best of living conditions for any guest, but Lelouch had pointed out that any guest would be staying for convenience's sake and not for any demanding reason and that such formalities would hardly be necessary in such an instance.

The third floor was by far the most important. It was Lelouch's personal study, a room more than big enough for all of the residents to fit in comfortably. Lelouch's laptop had been relocated to this room, as had any other such electrical equipment that any of them possessed. Lelouch had gotten two additional laptops – much to Xingke's chagrin – for others to use, although both carried only whatever Lelouch authorized, as they fed directly from his own. A near-argument on the ride to the academy had forced Lelouch to authorize the viewing of all Knightmare Frame specs, as both Suzaku and Karen were rather protective of what was done to their Knightmare Frames, and Jeremiah had been promised an upgrade to include a Float System once time would allow, although Rakshata's time had been occupied trying to find a way to make their Float Systems applicable with mass production Knightmare Frames. So far, it seemed the only option was to improve upon the Burai and Gekka and to discard the Sutherland and Gloucester entirely.

Lelouch was not liking that one bit.

"How was your first day back at school, brother?" Nunnally asked as she entered the room, Jeremiah handling the wheelchair from behind her. Lelouch and Jeremiah shared a nod as Lelouch set to removing the top to his school uniform, replacing it with a tight fitting sleeveless black shirt. During the time in which he was shirtless, Suzaku laughed rather loudly at the sight of the normally strong and proud Karen reduced to a blushing schoolgirl as she looked away from Lelouch's undressed upper body, and upon noticing what happened Lelouch joined him in a slight laugh. It was a light hearted moment that was hard to come by for the small group, so they enjoyed every moment of it.

"It was... interesting, Nunnally." The sofa made a soft squishing sound as Lelouch settled into it, throwing his head back and shutting his eyes tightly, "Suzaku, where did you find my contacts during lunch anyway?"

"You left them out by the cherry tree when I had you remove them during the art lesson Milly had everyone do this afternoon," Suzaku replied, taking a seat next to Lelouch and laughing.

From behind a slice of pizza, C.C. laughed as well, "I still can't believe Lelouch agreed to it."

Reaching over to grab a slice of pizza Karen joined them both in laughter, "And Lelouch had to go through PE with his eyes closed!"

Lelouch huffed indignantly but said nothing, sparking laughter from everyone else in the room. Rolo walked in a few moments later laughing softly, obviously having heard the conversation as he was making a sandwich – that he now held in his hand – in the kitchen. He sat down on the opposite side of Suzaku, his laugh dying down to a low chuckle, "I had to spend the day following Nunnally from class to class."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, "... _Thats_ why you weren't there this morning?"

"They mistook me for someone a year younger!"

And again the laughter resumed. For through all the hardships they had faced as of late, Suzaku's decision had turned out to be a wisely made one. They found themselves in a situation that was oddly desirable after having been on a battlefield for months. While Lelouch had initially had several objections to the idea, he found himself laughing along with the rest, sharing in the lighthearted moments that would never exist beyond the walls of that small home. And so long as it was within those walls, Lelouch didn't mind one bit. Only one thing did worry him, and that was that all this was only the beginning.

* * *

And that is the end of Blissful Normality: Part One. It took some work to decide where to cut this chapter off, but I felt this worked as a good cut off point. Unfortunately we ended up with this chapter being over 14,000 words in length anyway, but whatever. I don't mind too much, so long as it is unbearably long. So yeah, review and tell me what you think.

As for next chapter, expect more meaningful filler. LelouchxC.C. fluff abound, and more Schneizel/Kanon ownage (to a lesser extent). Expect that one to be done within the next week, with any luck.


	21. Blissful Normality: Part Two

Here is the second half of Blissful Normality, as promised. While it is essentially filler it, like the first part, will have much that ties in with things to come. In fact, even the filler serves a small purpose. I'm glad people weren't wracking on how awful my attempt at some light-hearted writing (if you haven't already figured it out, I am a very serious writer and humor is something that I am mostly incapable of producing). So hopefully this chapter will be just as good as the last (if nothing else, it will make next chapter all the more desirable, as next chapter is going to be my favorite one yet). If it raises hopes any, I found a rather useful muse in listening to the R2 OSTs while I write; it has proved infinitely helpful for setting a mood. So has Mosaic Kakera (the 2nd ED from season one), which is, if you're interested, my greatest inspiration in writing this. So if you want a small hint at where this fic will go, listen to that song.

On a completely unrelated note, Masterkeyes (author of A Friend Indeed, and quite possibly the most awesome writer I have yet met – forgive the rhyme) pointed out to me that my use of Japanese honorifics in the earlier chapters was incorrect which, surprisingly, hadn't previously occurred to me. But as I thought about it I realized that technically Britannians would be speaking english and that use of Japanese honorifics is wrong, so I went back and modified all of those. I would not be surprised if I have missed some, so if anybody comes across ones that I have missed, kindly let me know, okay? And to those of you who actually liked my use of Japanese honorifics, well, it _is_ technically incorrect. And since I am obsessive when it comes to being correct (although the correct I usually strive for is one I personally define), I feel it is my sworn duty to correct this... incorrectivity.

With all that said, and with one last shout out to Masterkeyes (who I have forgot time and time again to give honorable mention at the beginning of a chapter, as per his request), this disasteriffic chapter can get underway!

* * *

"We need to fortify El Alamein!"

"No, peace negotiations are our best policy! Fighting further will just result in more casualties!"

At its formation, the style by which the Euro Universe was run was an effective method. A council of the leaders of each of the twenty-seven member nations made for a democratic union that carried the best wishes of all the member nations. Over time the bond between the member nations began to waver, until eventually they broke apart entirely, forming two different groups within the council. These two groups opposed eachother at every turn – when one side wanted change, the other wanted things to remain the same. When one side wanted peace, the other wanted war. It had become a standard thing to go into a council meeting expecting a fight.

Their latest meeting was no different. Seven of their nations had been absorbed by Britannia over the past week alone, leaving the council a divide of ten on each side. Germany, France, and Italy held largely all of the authority within the council, with the rest being figureheads representing countries beneath one of those three. Internal corruption had turned the E.U. into a union of power hungry leaders seeking only to expand their own influence within the country, even at the expense of the country as a whole. It was for this reason that they found themselves in the despairing situation they were now in, backed into a corner by the swift and decisive advances of the Prime Minister of Britannia.

"If we can stop the Britannian advance at El Alamein, we can reclaim our territory and more! We could turn the tables on Britannia!" Marius Islami, the council representative of Italy, cried. His features were soft and refined, with slightly pointed ears and a perfectly groomed moustache, with a small nose and narrow slits for eyes, the irises a sparkling emerald. He was an imposing figure in the council, with persuasive abilities that had placed him in a dominant position over well over one third of the council, carrying more influence than any other leader in the council. His word was opposed only by the German and French representatives, as could be expected.

"We turn the tables on Britannia, and then what? Unless we drive them from both Russia and Africa, we cannot do anything but fight back and forth with Britannia. The border areas will be engulfed in never-ending conflict," Bergen Osiria, Germany's representative, shot back swiftly. Unlike Marius his features were far less imposing; short brown hair reached to the top of his neck, blue eyes and a poorly kept beard were his only distinguishing features. But he carried himself with a high and mighty attitude in an attempt to place himself higher than the others in the council, and in some regard he was above them. Although each member state had an independent military that came together in wartime, his was by far the largest. It had long been a policy of war mongers to keep him on their side, and this instance – where he advocated peace – boded ill for said war mongers.

"I agree," said the third and final of the three dominant representatives, Edward Baudet from France. A french moustache curled to either side of his nose, the ends pointing toward deep, icy blue eyes. Wavy black hair framed his face and he gave a cold glare to any that looked even remotely in his direction, marking him as the most feared of the leaders in the council. It was a legacy to live up to in a sense. All French representatives had the sworn duty of living up to the name of their age-old leader Napoleon Bonaparte, who had been responsible for much of the E.U.'s current power. As the successors to such a man, it was their duty to be just as imposing and talented as he. "We would be best off negotiating peace, and waiting until the Empire of China and Britannia exhaust themselves. Then we can make our move."

"If we can just defend El Alamein from Britannia until they exhaust themselves, we will not need to involve the Empire of China! Their squabble is over Area 11. I say, let them have their little island. It isn't the only Sakuradite resource, and it isn't the only advantageous location in the world. Once they have Area 11 they will be satisfied and will back down, and we may have our way with the exhausted Britannia. When they are dealt with, we can deal with the Empire of China as necessary," said Marius, ever the persistent one.

"You seem to be forgetting that the leaders of the Empire of China are all young and talented, more so than many of Britannia's leaders," said Edward. He flicked a wrist and pointed his index finger toward the ceiling, stating matter-of-factly, "That Li Xingke. The Lancelot's pilot, Kururugi Suzaku. And Zero. All of them are threatening figures who will seize upon a situation that is presented to them. Without a doubt."

Much of the table chorused their agreement to that statement. The only ones that opposed were those that followed Italy like lapdogs and those very few that, despite their standing in the council, had the courage to step and fight for what they felt was right. In those few moments the two sides of the divide shifted immensely, as it sometimes did, and new alliances were silently made while new enemies were silently pointed for no good reason. Within just twenty minutes of talking, it had come to pass that Marius Islami decided it was high time he expand further upon his influence in the council. Did he really need to? No, of course not. But it had become human nature to act on such whims whether you really needed to or not. This was one such instance. And besides, being outvoted and having those advocating peace overrule you was reason enough, really.

Outside the Vivendi Head Offices building – on the top floor of which was the meeting room for the member nations' council – many vehicles flying flags of one of the many member nations waited to pick up the representative corresponding with their respective flag. All except one. It was no surprise that the Italian representative didn't always go straight from the meeting back to the airport, and so few thought anything of it – a normal occurrence that needed no further observation, and nothing more. Now when several of the vehicles in the pack suddenly came to a stop halfway to the small communes of Dugny and Le Bourget, where the aptly named Le Bourget airport awaited them, suspicion was aroused. But there was no time to ponder it as they were on the road a moment later, providing the excuse that they had something of such importance that they couldn't relay it any way but in person.

Again, nobody thought anything of it.

But these strange – albeit not unheard of – occurrences were watched closely by some. Extremities between member nations had come to a point where expecting use of force was something people could see the logic in expecting. Even so, it was a subject so rarely touched on by either side that oftentimes representatives ignored the possible threat in its entirety. For that reason many were overly shocked to see these small but noticeable suspicious actions reach their apex; the German representative's vehicle, which had been leading the train of vehicles, was engulfed in a ball of fire as a slash harken slammed into its side. The others hastened to go into reverse, but by then it was much too late. The Panzer-Hummel launched its other slash harken into the front of the French representative's vehicle, destroying it instantly. The rest followed in short order with two well placed shots from his cannons. And coincidentally, those who had made their timely halt some time ago were untouched.

Some distance away the Italian representative, Marius Islami, was already pulling into the airport when his cell phone began to ring. Laughing softly he lifted it and pressed it to his ear, saying almost too eagerly, "Hello?"

"The bastards are dead, as per your orders," a man's voice, a gruff sound that could be associated only with the most battle hardened of soldiers. "What will we do with the remains?"

"Dispose of them in an orderly manner. We need to make this seem professional."

A small pause, "... It was professional."

Marius sighed, "Professional terrorist work. The terrorist network is a thing of the past, but terrorist activities are not entirely nonexistent. We can spin it to come off as such."

"What will you be doing about the nations themselves?"

"I," Marius laughed softly, leaning back in his seat as the vehicle turned a corner and came to a halt. "I will be creating a far more unified E.U."

o--o

Adapting to school life was an easy thing for everyone after a long summer's break. The two months of sun, surf and relaxation transformed into a practiced school routine without incident, and afternoons spent at the beach became small spots of free time in which one wasn't wrapped up by their lessons. It was a simple thing that nobody questioned and everybody went with regardless of their personal opinion – who would rather be in a class instead of being elsewhere relaxing anyway?

Unfortunately, the transition from soldier to student – or bodyguard – was an entirely different matter.

In the two weeks since they had returned to Ashford, nobody was more bored than C.C., who had to do little more than follow Lelouch from place to place all day. While this had been something she did from time to time in the past, the professional attitude she had to carry herself with as his bodyguard made it a job rather than a choice, and that took any and all potential fun out of it. There were no teasing remarks or outright teasing in general. Just silently trailing behind, pretending to be studying each and everyone they passed as though they may jump at Lelouch given a moment's notice. By the third day, C.C. had already lost it. By the end of the first week, she had been ready to give up, satiated only by Lelouch handing over his credit card – albeit reluctantly. But even pizza, in all its splendor, wouldn't hold her patience much longer.

It was for that reason that she had decided to skip out on being Lelouch's bodyguard for the day – it was a Friday, and Lelouch could conjure tons of reasons to explain her absence – on the grounds that she was going to have some time to herself. Lelouch had been skeptical as she said this, but he hadn't questioned the matter and he hadn't tried to convince her otherwise. She could tell he had enjoyed her company during the long school hours and he had almost looked like a lost puppy when she had seen the group off that morning, but she had her reasons. Reasons that somehow excused her now being in Karen's room, searching through the deepest depths of her walk-in closet in search of an outfit that she surely didn't have in her possession.

To her surprise, Karen had a rather wide array of feminine clothing. Low cut dresses seemed to populate the entire right side of the walk-in closet, each and every one shimmering with the light pouring in through the open doors of the closet. Most were either varying shades of red or blue, but there was the occasional green in with the mess of dresses. C.C. sifted through them rather quickly, ultimately deciding none suited her tastes. Granted she couldn't entirely remember what her tastes were, but she remembered enough from the many magazines she had time to read over the years – particularly in the earlier stages of her contract with Lelouch, back when they still lived at Ashford - to know what she had thought looked cute at the time.

The left side was filled with more casual clothing, consisting mainly of blouses and many pairs of jeans – several of which had tears in them, in the knees or elsewhere. C.C. finally settled on a black ruffled blouse with a pair of slightly torn navy blue jeans, a casual look that C.C. felt was entirely too foreign to her. How long had it been since she had dressed in such a casual manner, anyway? Satisfied she retreated into the bedroom and began taking her time searching through the drawers of her vanity for a makeup kit or something of the sort. It was little surprise that Karen didn't have such a thing, however. Giving herself a once over in the vanity mirror, C.C. decided such trifling things were highly unnecessary for her.

The rest of the day had been a blur. Several hours had been spent in front of the TV watching whatever piqued her interest, while just as many were spent in the dining room with several boxes of pizza to one side of her, a pile of magazines on the other. Teen idol magazines had been her topic of choice for the day, and within an hour's time she had been thoroughly educated on the subject of teen likes and dislikes. Such information could prove useful for what she had planned later that day, after all. A glance at the clock told her that he pizza binge and reading session had left her with over four hours to spare, and so with nothing else to do she grabbed a small bag off of the table and rummaged through it, finding Lelouch's cell phone tucked in its depths. With his cell phone in hand she took off, confident that Lelouch was observant enough to realize that she would have his cell phone if he returned and found her gone from the house.

When Lelouch returned home after school, with the rest of his motley crew in tow, he wasn't surprised to find that C.C. wasn't in the immediate vicinity. Rummaging through the bag on the table confirmed his suspicions that she had gone out. What he hadn't anticipated was the spare cell phone – another necessity that had been paid for in full by Xingke – having a text message. Flipping it open, a message displayed over the screen, saying simply, "Clovisland. Thirty minutes." The number attached to the message was that of his own cell phone, and so with a soft laugh Lelouch quickly changed before using the monorails and catching the 5th Circinate Line, taking him almost to the Viceroy's Palace, where there was a ten minute wait before catching the 2nd Line as far as the Old Tokyo Memorial.

As Lelouch exited the station at the Old Tokyo Memorial, a familiar sense of dread washed over him. Directly in front of him was a large structure made of a polished stone, depicting the Emperor of Britannia – the man depicted didn't look one bit like Charles – lifting the crown off of another man's head. A sword lay between them, representing unconditional surrender. "As if the Japanese didn't have enough to hate," said Lelouch as he gazed upon the memorial with interest, taking in every inch of its structure. The Emperor depicted before him was missing one of his hands in a manner most certainly not within the vision of the sculptor. The man kneeling was likewise missing a hand, likely as revenge for the slight to the Emperor before him.

The walk to Clovisland from the memorial was one of undisturbed silence. All around Britannians went about their business as though he didn't exist – and since several were victims of his Geass, there was reason for that. Many were businessmen or women, going to one place or another for an important meeting that, in the scope of Lelouch's world, were hardly important. Occasionally he would be graced with a passing glance, and if the Britannians even recognized him they didn't let it show. For this Lelouch was glad, as he would have drawn unnecessary attention to himself had they recognized or acknowledged him. Curse C.C. and her frivolous way of doing things.

It was little after four when he finally arrived at Clovisland – had they increased their prices since he last visited? - and had gotten inside. The massive Ferris wheel in the center of the amusement park loomed over him as he walked, eyes shifting from side to side in search of the witch who had the audacity to call him out to such a public place in the first place. Unfortunately he wasn't as inconspicuous as he had initially hoped he would remain to be, and it was only a matter of moments before he was surrounded by people, some curious, others violent. It occurred to him then that the average Britannian's opinion of him was subject to be different from person to person which, while a simple enough concept, bemused Lelouch. As he tried to push his way through, people shouted out to him either praises of his heroism, remarks of how he had betrayed the empire, or simply spewing, "Zero," as though it were a plague upon him. The exchange was interesting in and of itself, but by the time Lelouch had broken free of the group his tolerance of them was waning.

He finally spotted C.C., leaning against the railing surrounding the Ferris wheel with an amused look on her face as she watched Lelouch break free of the crowd of people. He made his way over to her with his brows furrowed with an expression of blatant displeasure, panting as he reclined against the railing next to her, eliciting a chuckle from her in turn. "That was... cruel," he said. C.C.'s only answer was to break into a soft laugh. "Why Clovisland?!" he gasped, turning slightly without lifting himself off of the railing to glare at her.

"I wanted to go on a date," said C.C., as though the fact were something he should have expected from the beginning. And in hindsight, thought Lelouch, he should have.

"No," was Lelouch's subsequent response. C.C. frowned briefly, but the small flicker of emotion didn't remain for long, masked behind an indifferent expression.

"And why not?" asked C.C., her eyes searching his for a reasonable excuse to decline her request. She found no such thing, after a moment's search.

"What do you mean, 'why not'?" exclaimed Lelouch, turning fully to stare at C.C. with an incomprehensible expression. "This life we are living right now, C.C., isn't real! This isn't our life – this is a small vacation, at best!"

"And?" C.C.'s own expression was unreadable, but their was a noticeable layer of incredulity gleaming.

"And?!" cried Lelouch incredulously. He waved his hands in a frantic manner, and he was growing steadily more aware of the people casting he and C.C. wary glances as they passed.

"Suzaku told you to enjoy the peaceful time we do have," C.C. added, going in for the finish. Lelouch's protests all died out as she said that, recognizing the truth to her words. With a sigh, Lelouch realized the futility in objecting further.

"So, for whatever reason, you want to go on a... date," he said, not hiding the fact that he thought the concept was unheard of.

"That is right."

"You aren't going to tell me this reason," noted Lelouch, sighing. C.C. nodded. "Fine. What did you have in mind for this 'date'?"

Wordlessly C.C. pointed toward the Ferris wheel behind her. With a sigh Lelouch took her by the arm, looping it through his own and making his way toward the lineup. The line seemed to part ways as Lelouch arrived, much to his bemusement, and it was only a moment before they were seated in one of the cars, lifting up toward heights they hadn't reached in some time. And the feel of being so high up on a Ferris wheel was vastly different than being in a Float System equipped Knightmare Frame. "You have an eye for things like this, do you C.C.?" asked Lelouch, the silence growing unbearably thick for him.

"A magazine said Clovisland was a good spot for couples to go," she replied, adopting a quoting tone of voice.

"C-couples?!" Lelouch gasped, turning sharply to look at her as though she had lost her mind. C.C.'s expression was as indifferent as ever, although she seemed more pleased with herself than normal.

She tapped a finger to her cheek thoughtfully, "Is that not right?"

Lelouch's left hand made its way to his face and he groaned deeply, shaking his head, "No... thats right. Clovis wanted this place to be a happy place, because of all the conflict in Area 11."

"Forget about him, Lelouch," replied C.C. sternly. She looked at him from the corner of hey eye and caught his distraught expression. She added, "Mourning won't serve any purpose."

The rest of the ride was spent in complete silence, save for some pleased noises C.C. made as they reached the top of the wheel. Lelouch couldn't help but wonder why she had never been on a Ferris wheel in the past, although he let the question slip from his mind, forgotten into the depths of it where it would never be heard from. What she had or hadn't experienced in her many years of life were of no consequence to him, after all. As they stepped out of the car at the end of the ride, C.C. seemed far happier than Lelouch had ever seen her. Happier even than when she was engrossed in a piece of pizza.

For the next two hours, the tension of the forcefully planned date disappeared entirely. Despite himself Lelouch allowed himself to enjoy his time spent, going from attraction to attraction, as were C.C.'s whims. The roller-coaster ride proved to be especially exciting for Lelouch, with a multitude of twists and turns as the track led them around and between most every other attraction in the amusement park. It was oddly reminiscent of being in a Knightmare Frame, with the swift movements throwing them to and fro. The sensation brought a feeling of absolute bliss to Lelouch that he wasn't aware that he could still feel, and they ended up riding it twice more over the course of their stay.

The other attractions were no less amusing, although more so for C.C. than for Lelouch. Ring toss turned out to be a disaster when Lelouch's lack of strength and coordination resulted in him unceremoniously hitting the person running the ring toss in the forehead. Many a snide remark was made at Lelouch's expense from them on regarding his expertise in the art of ring toss, but they came to an abrupt halt the moment Lelouch had threatened to reclaim his credit card.

The rest of the attractions were visited more as a formality than anything else. C.C. had insisted on going to everything the amusement park had to offer. Lelouch had dutifully accepted, having long since surrendered to the inevitability of the situation. None of them were as enjoyable as their first choices, but when they finally left at nearly seven o'clock, both were wholly satisfied. C.C. had become a permanent accessory for Lelouch's right arm, clinging tightly to it as they walked, although this development had coincidentally been made not long after the amusement park had begun to swarm with couples on dates, many of which including the woman of the pair clinging to the man in a like fashion. Lelouch hadn't complained when C.C. did so, and that had been that.

Lelouch sighed as he checked the watch on his right wrist, "Suzaku is probably wondering where we are..."

"You didn't tell him you were going out?" C.C. seemed genuinely surprised by this.

"I just changed and left." Then with a glare he added, "Because you gave me a time frame."

"I expected you to be late."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes, "I know you did. Which was why I had to be on time."

"You won't let me win over something so trivial? Arrogance is an understatement in your case," sighed C.C., shaking her head in a pitiful manner.

"You care about winning?" countered Lelouch.

With a shrug C.C. replied, "Not really."

"Damn you!" Lelouch and C.C. exchanged a glance and upon realizing that it wasn't the other that had said it, looked ahead. They had absently been making their way back toward the Old Tokyo Memorial, where two men now stood. One Britannian and one Eleven, if the ragged clothing on the latter was any indication. While the Britannian was dressed well, as could be expected, in black slacks and a white striped button up shirt, the Eleven was dressed in torn and faded blue jeans and a tight fitting gray shirt, with dirt layering both articles of clothing. The Britannian was staring down at the Eleven with a sneer, pointing to his pant leg, where a small spec of dirt had settled. "That is your fault, filthy Eleven! Clean it up!" Rather than obeying, as many Eleven civilians would have in that situation – at the very least, that was how it was when last Lelouch saw, many months ago – this Eleven stood, glaring at the slightly shorter man and giving him a rough shove.

"I am not an Eleven!" he hissed loudly, eliciting glances from several passers-by. "I am Kojiro Miyami. A Japanese! I'm Japanese!" Before Lelouch could so much as blink the two men were upon eachother, punching and swiping where they could. Before long Kojiro had been pushed up against the base of the memorial, his head hanging back and a smug smile on his face. "Going to deface your own memorial with the blood of a 'filthy Eleven'? Go for it. This memorial is nothing more than a slight to the honor of the Japanese."

"And get your blood on our memorial? Bollocks." The Britannian took a step back to admire his handiwork. Kojiro's right wrist had been snapped when the Britannian caught an incoming punch and twisted the caught hand around, his face was bloodied from a hit to the nose and several hits to the mouth, and several teeth had been knocked out. Despite all the damage done Kojiro lunged, tackling the Britannian to the ground and landing a left hook to the side of the Britannian's face. With his right hand damaged he had only his left hand to rely upon, but that proved to be enough. He landed four consecutive hits before the Britannian regained the wind in his lungs and fought back, delivering a devastating knee thrust to the gut that took Kojiro down immediately.

Unable to watch any further, Lelouch stepped forward, "Stop it!" cried he, glaring down at the two. They cast him a wary glance before returning to eachother, clearly having not recognized him, which was either reassuring or an assurance of their idiocy – Lelouch preferred the later. Taking a glance around to ensure they were alone, Lelouch narrowed his eyes, "I said..." they looked at him again, and with a sweep of his right hand he removed the contacts in his eyes, "Stop fighting!"

The two blinked once, twice. In unison they stood, muttering words of apology to one another and wiping the dirt off of eachother's clothing. Satisfied, Lelouch replaced his contacts and turned to C.C., who was regarding him with an expression screaming displeasure. Lelouch uttered a nervous laugh and turned around again, avoiding the scrutinizing gaze of the witch as best possible. Kojiro and the Britannian had already taken their leave in opposite directions.

"You are reckless," said C.C., coming up beside Lelouch. "You know Schneizel yearns to discover your power, and so you respond by giving him two ideal test subjects. Has the time spent in normalcy dulled your wit?"

"Not at all," replied Lelouch, his tone frank. "I know the risks I have taken, which is why I ensured the command I issued was one that could not linger. It is Britannian nature to take their hatred out on those beneath them – in this case, the Japanese. That being so, the Geass command I gave him will keep him from fighting. Schneizel will have nothing to investigate."

"You seem to be underestimating Schneizel. You won against him in China only because you were given a good position, and because he was overconfident in his advantage," C.C. remarked, smirking at the glare Lelouch gave her. "He is every bit your equal otherwise, is he not?"

Lelouch solemnly nodded, "He is the only one whom I have never defeated at chess. I don't know if I can, even now."

"Time will tell," C.C. replied unnecessarily, shrugging.

"Yes..." Lelouch touched his right eye with his index finger, frowning, "Time will tell."

o--o

Many a strange phenomenon came with the arrival of the Empire of China in the Tokyo Settlement area.

The sky over Area 11 had been more clear. The grass had been more green. The birds sang freely and without fear, their delightful voices rising and falling in a perfect harmony that cleared the mind and soothed the soul. The thieves in the streets all but disappeared as though they had never existed. Oftentimes Elevens and Britannians engaged in meaningful conversations as though they were equals. These were just some examples of the happiness that came with the change that was occurring. A stranger occurrence still, however, was the sight of Todo Kyoshiro smiling. On a regular basis, and often without any true reason.

One Kaguya Sumeragi observed all these happenings with the greatest of interest and pride. Often would she confide in another how proud she was to have been a part of such a turning point in the restoration of Japan. Common arguments stated that the true head of Japan's restoration was in fact a Britannian himself, but this had long since ceased to bother her. Be they Britannian, Japanese or anything else, Kaguya had grown to accept all so long as their desire for change was true. Some would dare say she were far too optimistic and that Japan would never be the same if it relied upon others to assist in its restoration, but Kaguya cared not. After all, she'd realized long ago that Japan would likely not be returned in full to the Japanese. Lelouch was far too idealistic to let it end there.

And she found herself warming up to that idea. Why should the battle end in Area 11? Lelouch had indeed said time and time again that he would help all the Numbers, but nobody had thought much of it, really. Looking back on it, Kaguya found an appeal to that idea she hadn't before seen. They could take the fight to the Britannian homeland, perhaps even overthrow Britannia! What would come after that Kaguya couldn't be sure, but it was an idea worth pondering over. Just... not now.

Because right now was for other matters. Other matters standing right in front of her, to be precise; Cornelia Li Britannia. Clothing similar to that which she usually wore covered her powerful yet lithe frame. In lieu of her usual wear of matching dark crimson pants and dark crimson top, the top reaching down around the sides of her thighs and bearing golden linings spreading out from the center toward the sides, with a white cape with a unique collar that spiked and barricaded her entire head was one of nearly identical symmetry. Where there was no longer any extension on the sides of her top there was instead frilly lace that accentuated the lighter crimson of the dress pants she had opted to wear in place of the usual. In place of her white cape that reached nearly to the ground was a similar one of a darker shade, with the Britannian emblem etched into its back. The collar rose to the base of her skull where it spiked ever so slightly, bringing out the same imposing appearance she typically had.

Next to her stood Euphemia, dressed comparably simply. A frilly pink dress hugged tightly to her small frame, and her hair had been brought up into a small bun, several tendrils of her long hair escaping and assaulting her face with no discernable pattern. A light layer of blush had been applied to her cheeks and eyeshadow brought out the hint of purple beneath the blue in her eyes. Both were dressed to impress, so to speak, and for good reason.

Beside Kaguya stood the Tianzi, dressed in a white dress that matched her own black one, and behind her stood Li Xingke, the Commander-in-Chief of the Anti-Britannian Front. Behind Kaguya with a hand resting on her shoulder was Kyoshiro Todo, one of the highest ranking members of the Anti-Britannian Front. The four stared down the two princesses before them with studious gazes, oblivious to Diethard preparing cameras and other necessary equipment off to the side. There was nothing beyond the eyes of the two princesses they studied, searching for any reason that they shouldn't be here, getting ready to do what they were about to do.

The command center of the Hogosha was cast in a dreadfully uneasy silence as the apocalypse – otherwise known as the televised affirmation of the ceasefire between the Anti-Britannian Front and the Britannian army under Cornelia Li Britannia – approached. The lackeys and other lower rank men on either side of the room – as each side had been delegated to one party – dared not speak, for fear that they would shame their leaders. And the leaders dared not speak for fear that they would bring to the table reason to call off this ceasefire. Cornelia was the least worried of this detail, but the prospect of the Anti-Britannian Front surrounding and assaulting the Tokyo Settlement wasn't sitting well with her. It would certainly result in more damage than was necessary.

"Ready," Diethard's head poked from around the camera he had set up and his hand waved beside it, finger after finger dropping as he counted, "Five. Four. Three. Two. One... Go."

Kaguya revealed a paper she had been holding behind her back as she proceeded to recite, "As representative of the Anti-Britannian front and Empress of the Empire of China, we – Kaguya Sumeragi and Jiang Lihua – will be representing the Empire of China in this matter."

Cornelia in kind revealed a paper she too had been hiding and recited, "And as 2nd and 3rd princesses of the Holy Britannian Empire as well as Governor-General and Sub-Viceroy respectively of Area 11, we – Cornelia and Euphemia Li Britannia – will be representing the independent militarized zone of Area 11, as granted by His Majesty the Emperor."

"Though they are terms already agreed upon through our Grand Commander Lelouch Lamperouge, we offer the immediate release of all prisoners – offense and other such details irrelevant – as well as a share in the seasonal distribution of the Sakuradite resources within the territory of the Empire of China," said Kaguya.

"And we offer the full recognition of Japanese nationalism within Area 11 as well as the promise that all lost territory in Area 11 is to remain under the authority of the Empire of China," said Cornelia. There was a brief silence in which the viewers, although there were none as of yet and there wouldn't be for several hours when this was actually to be broad-casted worldwide, could register the true meaning of those words into their heads. After such a pause Cornelia continued, "The Sakuradite distribution is to be done in a manner that benefits both sides, with a minimum of fifteen percent. Agreed?"

"Agreed," replied Kaguya, sparing a glance at the Tianzi who too nodded her agreement. She went on, "And the integration of Japanese is to be absolute. Ghettos are to be abolished, although improvement on those areas is a matter to be handled by the Empire of China. The Ghettos and Concessions are to be united, and Japanese will be given their full freedom within all of Area 11. Agreed?"

There was a long silence before, "Agreed."

"And furthermore," Kaguya went on, looking down at the paper in her hand. "Oppression of Japanese within Area 11 is to be made an offense punishable only in a matter fitting of one whom has committed murder. Oppression will not be forgiven, be it toward the Japanese or toward the Britannians, and both societies are to be treated as equals. Is this agreeable?"

Before Cornelia could respond Euphemia eagerly nodded, squeaking out, "It is most agreeable." And then with a hardened stare in her sister's direction she added, "_Right_, sister?"

The sight of Cornelia cowering before her sister's resolve was something that, were they not in a completely professional scenario, would have had the entire room roaring with laughter. This was only all the more true as she said quietly, "Of course, Euphemia."

Breaking the air of seriousness was Kaguya, having momentarily forgotten that she was being revealed to all the world as she began hopping on the spot, clapping her hands happily, "Wonderful!" cried Kaguya as she settled down from her apparent stupor of glee, smiling widely as she held out a hand to Cornelia. Likewise the Tianzi held out a hand toward Euphemia as Kaguya said, "Shake on it?"

With some hesitation and an elbow to the ribcage from her sister, Cornelia took Kaguya's hand into her own.

o--o

It may have been a long time since Lelouch had last referred to Ashford as his prison, but he was beginning to remember why he had considered it as such to begin with.

Sitting in class, listening to things he had taught himself years ago? Spend time in the company of people who saw him not as their classmate Lelouch Lamperouge, but rather as Zero and the Grand Commander of the Empire of China forces? Neither were things Lelouch longed to enjoy the thrill of. Namely because there was no thrill to be had in such things, but also because his time could be spent in better ways. He'd promised not to do more than what was absolutely necessary in matters pertaining to his rank – which ended up being only a couple public services to display the Empire of China's earnest desire to integrate both Britannians and Japanese into their society – but he still had other things he could do, such as repairing strained bonds with people.

Unfortunately, he had already exhausted that resource. He and Nunnally had had every Saturday to themselves for the past three weeks, a day which they spent doing the many things Lelouch had promised Nunnally they would do together when it was possible. There had been a visit to Clovisland – which unfortunately ended up being a disappointment on Nunnally's part when Lelouch ended up retelling the events of his date with C.C. there – followed by a visit to the recently named Clovis Memorial Museum, as well as visits beyond the Tokyo Settlement, to important or interesting locations all throughout Area 11. One such visit had led them to the Empire of China-built memorial at Itsukushima, where a statue of Kyoshiro Todo had been built in honor of his monumental success during the Second Pacific War, a long eight years ago.

Beyond Nunnally, there had indeed been others that he needed to make amends with – namely, the Student Council. Although he had declined their invitation for he, Suzaku and Karen to return to the council on the grounds that they were no longer people that the Ashford populace would accept as being amongst those exalted ranks, he had still made much time for them. There had been a particular World History assignment in which they had to make a five thousand word report on one of Britannia's historic events during the reign of the 98th Emperor Charles Di Britannia, and Rivalz – who's in-depth knowledge of such a point of world history was meager to say the least – was both surprised and delighted that Lelouch offered to be his partner. The fact that C.C. was an add-on when Lelouch worked with you was certainly a bonus.

Shirley had been surprisingly indifferent to Lelouch's presence which, while Lelouch no longer held her in any special regard, did hurt him. Still, he managed to break through to her one day a week past, when they had been caught in Milly's attempt to promote good will at Ashford. Numerous charity groups had visited the academy in the hopes of getting a large sum of money from the many rich people that attended. Shirley had unfortunately been limited in what she was aloud to provide, and had been pleasantly surprised to see Lelouch pooling in his personal funds with her's to support a charity group of her choice – a homeless shelter relief fund, in particular, which Lelouch would later admit in confidence with C.C. that he had had a special desire to aid that charity. Afterwards Shirley seemed to be all smiles around Lelouch and everything seemed to be normal, although there was still an inexplicable barrier between them that Shirley wouldn't allow to lower.

Milly had been a similar matter, in essence. That same charity event had been derailed by a certain group of student's openly displaying their refusal to part with their money for such a needless cause. True Britannian behaviour, really, but it had struck a chord within Milly. With Lelouch's help she – and several others – had been able to convince those delinquents the error of their displeasure, which was owed in no small part to Lelouch's persuasive abilities. And thus had all feuds been resolved, and thus had Lelouch been left with no motivation to attend school, as had been his problem before leaving Ashford to begin with. It had been unfortunate that Nunnally had tied him to Ashford for a long time, but that reason too had faded. And so what did Lelouch do?

Naturally, he skipped class. Starting with PE.

The grass whistled against the wind in the fresh, early morning air as Lelouch relaxed, leaning against a rather tall Oak tree out behind the academy. Birds up in the highest branches sang songs of joy toward the heavens, gracing the land with a calming feel that was slowly dragging Lelouch into the depths of a blissful slumber. Next to him sat C.C., her head resting lazily next to his own, although she was wide awake and staring absently toward the sky. Every so often a small sigh would escape her slightly parted lips, often followed closely by a graceful yawn from her partner. Save for the singing of the birds above there was a completely companionable silence hanging over them, and any words that needed be spoken could be picked up simply through their knowledge of eachother. Such was the bond they had come to share.

Now and then C.C. would lift her head to look at Lelouch and he in kind would immediately open his eyes, staring at her for just the briefest of moments. And then he would say, "I know," as though he understood exactly what she had meant to ask. And to some level he did, C.C. thought, her curiosity piqued. It was that curiosity that had made her lift her head once or twice when she really had nothing to say. And sure enough Lelouch would stare at her for that same few moments, but instead of answering he would simply chuckle lightly and return to the blissful state of relax that he had been in beforehand. He truly was an enigma, even to her, who had the distinction of being able to say she knew him best. Not even Nunnally could say she knew Lelouch to the extent that C.C. did, who shared much of who he was. They were two sides of the same card, both in the regard that they were partners and in the regard that they were very much alike.

And likewise was C.C. an enigma to Lelouch. It was no secret that C.C. was not her real name, of that much Lelouch was certain. But her true name was the least of her enigmatic qualities. Even with the bond they shared, he knew far too little about her. He could agree with the fact that there were probably several things he didn't want to know about her, but there were certainly just as many things he did want – and deserved – to know about her. When had she truly been born? When was her birthday? These were trivial matters of course, but they were just as unknown as the more important qualities. Like how she had known at least to some extent who he was the moment she saw him. That was a mystery he feared he would never learn, through her or otherwise. It irked Lelouch that she could know so much about him while he knew so little about her, and he had to admit that he hadn't yet come to terms with that fact.

"Hey, C.C.?" asked Lelouch, little more than a whisper, lest he disturb to pleasant calm.

"Hmm?" she grunted in reply, one eye glancing over at him from the corner of its socket.

After a moment of thinking Lelouch asked carefully, "Did you know my mother?"

If the question surprised C.C. she neglected to show it. "Why do you ask?" she asked, and Lelouch could tell she was subtly taking her usual approach to the questions she didn't feel inclined to answer.

"You seemed to know me when first we met. I seemed familiar with you as well, if only slightly. It wouldn't surprise me if you knew her, or – I dare say – knew something about her death," replied Lelouch, an edge to his tone as he fought to keep control of the question. It, unlike so many other questions, would not be avoided.

A heavy sigh, much unlike the soft ones Lelouch had been hearing all morning, escaped C.C. as she hung her head, seemingly in thought. "I did know her," she said after a long moment, uncharacteristically reluctant. The thought that he would ask this of her hadn't occurred to her before now, it seemed.

Lelouch sighed in kind and ran a hand through his hair, a gesture to bide time as he considered that. Finally he said, "And you knew her up until she died."

"Thats right."

"And that is why you seemed familiar to me; you and I met briefly while my mother still lived."

"Correct."

"Then why did you not tell me?!" cried Lelouch. The calm shattered under his sudden rage and C.C. almost flinched from the tone, but remained detatched and indifferent as Lelouch vented.

"Does any of this matter?" she asked in a clipped tone. Lelouch's anger began to dissipate at that moment and she said, "It wouldn't have changed anything."

It took a long moment for Lelouch to allow that to settle in, and then he said, albeit reluctantly, "I know."

"Then don't dwell on it."

Silence followed for many moments afterward. The birds ceased singing, contenting themselves with the occasional chirp. The flapping of wings signaled the departure of some birds and the arrival of others. At some points a bird would perch itself upon Lelouch's shoulder, pecking lightly at his face. At this point C.C. would chuckle and Lelouch would swat at the bird, and the bird would take off with a furious flap of its wings. The only departure from absolute silence was the sudden arrival of a small rabbit that piqued the interests of both Lelouch and C.C., primarily for its rather distinctive colors. It was a slate gray with a glossy coat, with small black spots all over its back and small white spots on its stomach on on the top of its feet. It stopped in front of Lelouch and stared hard at him for a moment, and then glanced over at C.C. before returning its gaze to Lelouch.

Lelouch tentatively picked it up, relaxing when it immediately began searching for a comfortable position within his arms to have a nap. "Do you think...?"

"It seems to like you," C.C. answered, chuckling lightly. "Mascot material, perhaps?"

Lelouch glared at C.C. and wagged a finger, "Absolutely..." he looked down at the rabbit, resting comfortably in his lap. It nibbled lightly on his finger in its sleep, often sighing in a contentment Lelouch didn't know was possible. It then occurred to Lelouch that perhaps this rabbit didn't have a family. It seemed to be just a baby, and that would certainly explain its behaviour to some degree. In that regard, Lelouch could truly sympathize with the unfortunate creture. And so he finished, "... Perhaps," with a small smile on his face.

At that moment C.C. jumped to her feet and stretched, her bones popping as she did so. "I've grown tired of this," she said quickly, noticing the quizzical look on Lelouch's face. "Lets walk."

Although reluctant to leave the comfort nature had to offer that morning Lelouch stood as well, carefully placing the rabbit on the ground where he had been. He didn't get more than three steps before he heard the soft pitter patter of small feet trailing behind his own. He stopped and turned around, finding the rabbit both awake and following closely behind. It didn't stop fast enough and subsequently bumped into Lelouch's leg, shaking its head of the resulting daze before looking up at Lelouch. Its eyes were large and inquisitive, a vision of a loneliness Lelouch was all too familiar with. Sighing he reached down, scooping the rabbit into his arms. It immediately scurried up his arm, taking a rather interesting perch upon his shoulder, nibbling on his ear lightly. C.C. burst out laughing at that moment.

"Ah... definitely mascot material," it took Lelouch well over a minute to realize she had spoken, so shocked was he by the sudden laughter. Laughter from C.C. of all people.

"He doesn't have a family, it seems," Lelouch replied, shrugging. He began walking again and C.C. had to pick up her pace to keep up with him, so fast that she nearly tripped over the ends of her pants several times. The halls of Ashford Academy were empty as class was in session, thus making it a simple matter for Lelouch to get to the library undetected. There he made toward a bookcase further to the back, pulling a book out of place. The bookcases around it began to shift, revealing an iron door. Pressing in a code on the pannel next to it the iron door opened to reveal a small elevator that Lelouch and C.C. used to reach the basement levels of the academy. Thankfully few knew of the place and even fewer knew how to reach it, so hows and whys weren't something Lelouch worried about should he be seen heading toward those bookcases.

There was a small room beyond the elevator, and passing through it brought Lelouch to a room he knew all too well. A large rectangular table was placed in the center of the dark room, with a massive screen embedded in the wall in front of it. On the far side of the room was a small love seat, although it was hardly necessary with the many chairs surrounding the table. It had been Lelouch's temporary hideout during his days as Zero back before he had left Area 11, and it had proved all too useful in those days. Even now he could remember the talks with Duke Henry at that table, reading spec reports and the like on the many things the two did together. It was unfortunate the duke had been recruited into India's research groups, as Lelouch hadn't heard from him since the Order of the Black Knights had first arrived in the Chinese Federation.

But there was something distinctly different about the room, particularly around the seats that faced the large screen. Nina was seated there, with many papers spread out in front of her. She hadn't seemed to notice the new arrivals, reading through whatever was in front of her intently, every so often scribbling something in on the side. Her expression was one of perfect focus, and Lelouch had to blink to make sure he was seeing right. Not that Nina wasn't studious in the least, because she was, but rather because what she was doing clearly wasn't something that could be associated with school work. Especially since she had only been in class a handfull of times since Lelouch's return, and even then she had seemed out of it. Lelouch was officially intrigued.

The rabbit made a little squeak as its nibbling of Lelouch's ear ceased, drawing Nina's attention from her work. She did a double take when she saw who it was, scrambling to gather up all the papers in front of her. Her efforts were in vain as Lelouch pinned one down with his hand, reading over it. "Sakuradite Disruptor...? All attempts to invent such a thing by Britannia have ended in complete failure..." said Lelouch, his interest drawn further out. "Do you actually have plans to make something like that, Nina?"

"I-I... I... No," she said quietly, avoiding his gaze.

"Nina," Lelouch made a tutting sound and he wagged a finger at Nina, making her blush hard with embarrassment. "You can't hide anything from me. Remember?"

"You would...?" Nina pointed to Lelouch's eyes.

Lelouch shook his head as he replied, "No, I would not." When Nina breathed a sigh of relief Lelouch chuckled, pulling his hand away. "So what is all this?"

"I..." Nina cleared her throat and then tried again, "I want to help."

"Help who?"

"The world."

"The world?"

Nina nodded, "There will come a time when everything will fall apart. I will be here when the time comes."

Lost in confusion, Lelouch was quite bothered by the fact that the topic seemed closed. Why must women scorn him by hiding their knowledge?

And then the rabbit started nibbling on his ear again.

"... Are you a woman too?"

o--o

Why, oh why, had he _ever_ thought there would be a semblance of normalcy in all this?

This was a question one Kururugi Suzaku asked himself on a regular basis. Now, the occasional feuds at home were one thing – all families fought, after all, and this makeshift one was no different. But waking up to an argument between Lelouch and C.C. about having used Geass on a couple civilians? Walking into the dining room to find the table swamped with pizza boxes, whether they were empty or not? Having a maid who is capable of fighting to a draw against most anyone, with some revived form of ninjutsu? It wasn't normal! And the time spent at school was a poor compensation, seeing as they were all treated as though they were celebrities – and occasionally, worse, treated as foul demon. Couldn't anything be normal?

No, Suzaku supposed not.

And it was for these reasons that he was hardly surprised when Li Xingke called him that morning, his first words being something along the lines of, "Why were emergency funds used to pay for the production of a... giant pizza?" But naturally, because this was a normalcy within the off beat and questionably sane lives of those living it, Suzaku had answered in a manner so nonchalant, Xingke had actually done a double take upon hearing it. After all, a giant pizza? To Suzaku, it made perfect sense that C.C. would have wanted such a thing and, although it made slightly less sense, it wasn't odd to him that Lelouch had agreed to it. Was it wrong that he found such unordinary things perfectly normal?

"Let me talk to Lelouch," was how he had eventually replied, and Suzaku could still remember the trace amounts of annoyance in his voice. Suzaku chuckled when he heard that, much to Xingke's chagrin. But could he help it that he thought that Xingke was playing babysitter? The thought amused Suzaku to no end.

As soon as he had overcome a fit of chuckling he had obliged, making his way to Lelouch's room upon the second floor. And it was here that things got too weird even for Suzaku. He froze as he gazed into the room, muttering some unintelligible reply to Xingke and shutting the phone off. Lelouch lay before him delicately curled in bed, a soft smile playing upon his lips. Normally this wouldn't be too odd – Lelouch often seemed happiest in his sleep – but there was one other object in this picture that had Suzaku blushing furiously. Lelouch was curled around C.C. with his arms wrapped around her torso, and she had her head reclining against his shoulder and her back pressing into his chest. Quietly, oh so quietly, Suzaku had shut the door and banished the thought of those two cuddling from his mind.

And yet when Lelouch came down into the kitchen with C.C. trailing behind him moments later, neither were any the wiser as to why Suzaku was avoiding their eyes. C.C. settled herself on the island in the middle of the room while Lelouch set to preparing breakfast, as he did every morning. It had come to be a wake up call for the house's inhabitants, for all of them knew that Lelouch would inevitably dispose of anything not eaten quickly enough. And since his cooking was enough to make one's mouth water, missing out was simply not an option. And thus Suzaku's reason for having been up so early to begin with. And given the smirk Suzaku saw from the corner of his eye, Lelouch knew it.

Breakfast came and went like a blur, and then everyone was up and about, carrying out the tedious Saturday morning tasks that required their attention. Jeremiah and Sayoko tended to cleaning the house from top to bottom, fixing anything even remotely out of place in a manner so meticulous that only they could have possibly pulled it off. Rolo and Karen were on guard duty as per usual, watching out for the ever present threat of attack. Though it had been many weeks and there had been no problem, Lelouch was paranoid in his determination to make sure no harm came to those he cared about. They had set many traps around the house, both visible and invisible, to safeguard the eventuality.

Nunnally and Suzaku went out for a day to themselves, as Lelouch had taken a rain check because of Xingke having called. He and C.C. took sanctuary in the third floor where they took to reading over supply reports and other such things to make sure their plans – as, though nobody knew about it but C.C., Lelouch had been planning something all along – were ready for when they returned to their positions back in Kyoto. The first thing Lelouch confirmed was the progress on their new Knightmare Frames, and was pleasantly surprised to find the new mass-production Frame from India, the Akatsuki, to be in the final testing stages of development. Though the Akatsuki closely resembled the Gekka, the true successor to the Gekka was to be the Akatsuki Jikisanshiyo. The only unfortunate matter was the inevitable failure in integrating Float Systems into mass-production units, limiting their air forces to Team Zero.

Thankfully, the completion of the Akatsuki and the Akatsuki Jikisanshiyo cemented their advance into Sevemth Generation Knightmare Frame technology, surpassing even Britannia in their armaments. This was an important benchmark for Lelouch, who had stressed the importance in showing the world that Britannia could not only be defeated, but be surpassed as well. It would be some time still before they had enough of these Frames to employ on the battlefield, but it would also be some time before there was a battle to be fought. And until that time, Lelouch could only hope that Britannia's own Seventh Generation advances were not completed. It would defeat the purpose almost entirely if that were to happen. And if Rolo's Vincent was any indication, they were getting close. Worse, the Vincent was much like the Lancelot in its technologies. An army of Lancelots, even if the pilots were nothing like Suzaku? Didn't sound too appealing to Lelouch.

Next to be confirmed was the attempts to make a weapon using Hadron technology for mass-production units. Although in concept it seemed to be an easy thing, like the Float Systems finding a cost friendly way of doing it was nigh on impossible. Even so, Rakshata's technological genius was shown in her resounding success and a Hadron powered rifle had been created with relative ease, with the only flaw being that it had to draw from the Frame's direct power source, rather than having an independent reserve of its own like the VARIS and the shielding devices did. For this reason the Akatsuki Frames had been granted a much more powerful power supply, though that had exponentially increased the price behind its production. It was only through the fact that they had a vast amount of resources to draw from that made its production possible.

As soon as he'd finished checking through the many spec reports that needed checking, Lelouch pulled out his phone. Bringing Xingke up in his list of phone numbers, he waited several seconds as the dial tone sounded before a click was heard, followed by muffled sounds very much akin to the soft chattering of a mouse of a likewise small animal. In the distance a loud screech was heard and then finally Xingke let out a districted, "Hmm?"

"You wished to speak to me," Lelouch answered his grunt, reaching over to the far side of the table he sat at, where his newly acquired pet rabbit was inside a cage. He released it, allowing it to take its place upon his shoulder, nibbling upon the remnants of a carrot that had been placed inside its cage the night before. Lelouch reached up and scratched under its chin as he listened to more of the distracted noises being made on the other end, eliciting soft happy noises from the rabbit. Growing impatient Lelouch asked, "Xingke?"

Xingke's voice was contemptuous as he stated blandly, "Schneizel will soon have finished making his move. Can we continue to delay?"

"No, we cannot. Is everything sufficiently prepared?"

"Our forces have been gathered to the key locations we detailed during our last meeting, and our new supplies have been stored in all the different locations we accordingly decided upon. When you are ready, so is everything else ready for you."

Lelouch nodded to himself, a gesture C.C. - who had been sitting nearby – took to be a subtle sign of being pleased. "And when will Rakshata be performing the first test runs on the Akatsuki?"

"The Akatsuki Jikisanshiyo has been tested, but unfortunately is, like the Gekka, fit only for limited production. The Akatsuki will be tested tomorrow, although we already are prepared to have many models ready almost immediately after. We will be able to outfit much of our forces with them within a few days." A sigh was heard in the background, followed by a groan from Xingke. "Lelouch, I have to go. When will you be ready?"

"I will be on board the Hogosha in three days' time."

"If that is all, then I must go. I have business... to attend to here," a click was heard, followed by the dial tone. Lelouch shut off the phone and ran a hand through his hair, smiling smugly to himself.

"Is your puppet rebelling against its puppet master?" C.C. asked, smirking.

"He will soon, if we do not move." Lelouch sighed and ruffled his hair a little, allowing the resulting mess to crumple around him. "The Chinese care not for their Empress, and they sing songs of the valor of their glorious Grand Commander, having come from the very royal court of Britannia to smite all who are enemies to the world. It truly is a marvel. You should hear some of the songs they sing in the streets."

"I have heard songs sung many a time in commemoration of someone. It is nothing new." C.C. stood and made to Lelouch's side, scratching the rabbit behind the ear as she went on, "But that would mean that Xingke is growing disillusioned with you, would it not? The Empress will be seen as little more than a figurehead to your desires, and Xingke would seek to put her in full power and take you out to do so."

Lelouch nodded, "And thus the plot thickens. But he is far too late; the curtains are closing on this stage, and I will soon be moving to the next. But I still need him."

"Is he that powerful?"

"That dispensable."

o--o

The desert air was thick, accentuated by the heat to make a humidity so dreadful that one couldn't help but feel as though they were going to die at any given moment. And it was a place like this that had been home to a vast majority of E.U. forces for some time, dreadful though it was. Sand billowed in the heavy wind, threatening to blind any and all who were foolish enough to be outdoors without the necessary equipment – namely, as cool clothing as physically possible and heavy duty goggles. And it was outside El Alamein, on the very edge of this terrain, that news reporters flocked from all corners of the Euro Universe to bear witness to the largest military display the E.U. had ever taken part in. One hundred thousand soldiers had been stationed at El Alamein, and over fifty percent of them were Knightmare Frame pilots and had Knightmares. It was to be a hellish battle should Britannia attack.

One reporter, a certain Catherine Yule, employee at BBC News as a reporter for upwards of fifteen years, wouldn't have missed this for the world. From the death of the last King of France to the recent supposed terrorist attack on many of the E.U. leaders, she had covered all of the major stories that had presented themselves in her career. Initially it had been, like any job, just for a paycheck. But with a natural reporting affinity like her's, could she help falling in love with the job? It had consumed her life long ago, to the point where she feared she may have a nervous breakdown should she fail to deliver the news required of her. And so, she did just that. Thus coming to El Alamein, despite the present danger in doing so.

"Alright, Miss Yule. You are on in five, four, three, two, one..."

"I am reporter Catherine Yule with BBC News, coming to you live from the El Alamein battlefront. It has been a long time since we have been aloud to visit the heroes on the battlefront, but with the reformation of the armed forces and the appointment of Vice-Commander Jarvis Dervan to the high command of our troops here at El Alamein, where even now they are preparing for what is most likely going to be a last stand against the Britannian forces. The troops led by the Prince of Faces, Schneizel El Britannia, even now grow closer and closer to this important defensive location." Catherine Yule was a voluptuous woman in every sense of the word, and she played on that factor in her work. A low cut black skirt fluttered about in the wing, and a tight fitting gray shirt hugged her upper body, showing off her sizable chest. Auburn hair was tied back into a ponytail where it normally would have covered her face from the wind, allowing two shining blue eyes to show through.

Behind Catherine, there was a buzz of excitement as column after column of Panzer-Hummels, some armed with a makeshift arm that allowed for holding a baton of some sort, began travelling south-bound on the main street, through the center of the city. As the last of them passed by reporters, Catherine amongst them, began trailing behind, fighting to get to a good vantage point from which they could get a shot of the moving columns. Katheringe finally managed to break free of the pack as they were passing a deserted side street where there was the entrance to a building that seemingly lead to the very heavens. Just inside the arched entrance-way was a spiraling staircase, and as Catherine continued to climb, it became increasingly possible that the rooftop may never come.

When she finally reached the roof she had, at long last, reached her ideal vantage point. With the immense quality of the scope feature on her camera, the distance was a non-existent problem. She unleashed her camera's power to its fullest, taking shot after shot with such expert precision that it was a wonder how each and every one came out seemingly perfect. As soon as she had taken her fill she retreated to the ground below, carefully navigating the streets in such a way that she effectively cut off the columns as soon as they came to a stop in the town square. It had long ago been decided upon as an ideal place to take a pause, primarily due to the significance of the location.

The outer reaches of the square were not filled with vendors as many of the North African cities' squares, if they had one, were. It was instead a massive wall that separated the living areas of El Alamein from the square itself, with the only way in and out of the square being the main road upon which the collumns travelled. In the center of the square was a massive statue of a hero from ages past, back in the early days of the Euro Universe's rise to power. A small pond surrounded the statue and the pedistal upon which it stood, and many had discarded spare change into the pond as an offering to their hero as a form of prayer.

"Vice-Commander Jarvis!" Catherine hollered out, ever the shameless one when it came to her work. Widespread dislike of reporters for their persistence? She couldn't care less what they thought. So long as she got her story, she thought, they could say what they wished of her. And when they were working some tedious minimum-pay job at god-only-knows-where, she would be at the heights of her career, rolling in more money than she knew what to do with. And would they have any excuse to look down upon her then? Then again, did they have any excuse to look down upon her _now_, when she had established herself as one of the most successful reporters of her time?

And it seemed the Vice-Commander was aware of who she was and her reputation, as he – standing atop his respective Panzer-Hummel – immediately ordered a halt to the slowed procession. He looked down at Catherine with an unreadable expression, but he waved a hand as if to urge her on. Not one to pass up such an offer she smiled brightly and nodded, "Just a single question," she spoke into her microphone in an honest tone and, realizing the truth in her words, Jarvis nodded. "What do you think of this? Being forced to take up defense against a vastly more powerful enemy, with only the natural defenses of El Alamein and your genius as a commander as your allies?"

Jarvis didn't seem surprised by the question, and he answered truthfully, "As a soldier, my personal opinion means squat, doesn't it?" with a dry laugh. Not waiting for a comment he went on, "But the reality of it is, that this is folly. Annexing the territories of the deceased leaders has doomed us, I'm afraid."

"Would you elaborate, Vice-Commander?"

"The people are unanimous in their support of only their respective leader. How is such a person to act then, when another leader comes marching in with his guards, stating that they will be taking over the unauthorized area? I smell trickery, and I fear the Prince of Faces is prepared to exploit it. Until then, I must continue to fight. Now, if you may."

* * *

That last scene? A dreadful attempt at writing someone with blatantly different mannerisms and such than the other members of the cast. But it will make due, for now.

One thing of interest to point out. Marius Islami does indeed sound familiar in case anyone is wondering, as I named him in close resemblance to Marina Ismail from Gundam 00, which I am eager to see the second season of. Words can't express how happy I was to hear it would be taking R2's time slot, essentially maintaining my love for Sunday mornings (unless, of course, the lovely subbing groups behind it will be slower than CG's were, which is highly likely).

There is only one other thing that needs saying – my take on the last episode. Or rather, my take on people's reception of it. Really, does it matter? Okay, it does to some, but is it worth sparking full-fledged arguments over? No. So, as a precaution (I don't expect this to be an issue) I will ask that nobody so much as mention that episode. Yes I know nobody has so much as mentioned direct events from the serious in correlation to my own take on the series, but I also realize that there are very few Code Geass fans not talking about the ending. And so it is, as I said, a necessary precaution to make.

And now onto Chapter 21 (technically 22, but my pre-written document still says 21), Three Nations Plan! Interpret that as you will, for now.


	22. Three Nations Plan

So here is chapter twenty-two. It is around now that, were this an anime, we would be seeing a change in opening and ending themes – sorry, I couldn't resist noting that. At any rate, this chapter means a lot to me, for some reason. It was one of the first chapters I had planned out, and it is also going to be one of the most important ones to date. To those with knowledge of the Three Kingdoms (and yes, the name is a play on Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Plan), this would be somewhere around the Red Cliffs time period (which is in no way due to the fact that the Longzhong Plan was created at said point in time). So yeah, this is an important benchmark to me. From here on, expect maybe another fifteen to twenty chapters, depending how I decide to chop everything up (current estimate is 36 to 38, with one more for an Epilogue).

And back on the topic of music, I actually had a little bit of trouble writing this, due to my insistence on making it perfect, and because I am a negative person I still refuse to believe it is by any means perfect. At any rate, my hunt for the perfect inspiration brought me to my playlist of songs from the Code Geass R2 OST. After much hunting, I found that the ideal song was The Master (to those unfamiliar with the actual BGM in Code Geass, The Master most notably plays at the end of episode 21). Suffice to say I spent the better part of my time writing this chapter while listening to a mixture of that, Mosaic Kakera and Waga Routashi Aku no Hana. Why is any of this relevant, you might be asking? It isn't. But I thought that if anyone were so inclined, they could try reading this while listening to those three songs. It was a perfect mood setter for this chapter.

--

The moon and sun had both taken their watches over the sky above as Lelouch worked tirelessly, the dark bags forming beneath his eyes the only sign of his exhaustion. It was little wonder as to why he would be so tired, of course. With the end of the war for control over Area 11, there had been many leaves of absences granted, identical to the ones Lelouch and his allies had returned from only two days ago. And with Xingke away to the capital to meet with the Tianzi, his duties and well as Lelouch's own fell upon the young commander. It had been a night full of signing papers, making sure soldiers had returned and working out the resignation papers of more than twenty. That fact had disheartened Lelouch a little, but with their army as it was, that twenty or so hadn't harmed them, although it may later down the road.

Although somewhat unwillingly, C.C. had stayed with him until early in the morning, when she too had given up on fighting the inevitable desire for sleep, retiring to her bed nearby. Lelouch ignored his mind's urging for him to do the same, immersing himself in the papers littering his desk. But as the sun rose and his only source of energy was cup after cup of coffee, tea or whatever else he could have delivered swiftly, he knew that his time was drawing near. He finished signing the last of the papers addressed to him, and then he retired to his bed, not bothering to remove his clothes as he fell into a much needed slumber. That night he dreamt of many things that had eluded his dreams for a long time. Dreams of his mother and his sister and the life they once shared at the Aries Palace. It was hard to imagine that it was just a short eight years ago that these fleeting dreams were realities, but that didn't make the dreams any less meaningful to Lelouch.

When he awoke the later that morning, not wholly rested but enough to get by, he settled right back into working. The object of his devotion was quite different this time, and far more meaningful; the supply rates of Sakuradite being mined from Mt. Fuji. The small bit promised to Britannia alone was enough to build a small army of Knightmare Frames, and the overall number was a figure much, much larger. It was a wonder that such a useful resource could be in such abundance. And even after setting aside the shares promised to Britannia, the remainder – although much of it was to be set aside for Lelouch's plans to come to fruition – was enough to grant them tremendous amounts of funding and other such things.

Noon had passed by a meager five minutes when C.C. finally roused herself, yawning slightly as she sat up, arching her back slightly as her arms pushed toward the distant ceiling. Lelouch gave her a sideways glance and a simple nod of greeting, turning back toward the computer screen of the laptop he had since taken out, going back and forth between it and the papers strewn all around it. "Ogi came back from negotiating the surrender of the independent Japanese factions hiding at Osaka Bay this morning. The Britannian operatives spying in the outlying regions of Kyoto were captured this morning," a pause, "Yes, we will be ready to take that action soon. ... Alright. Don't take too long; we need you back here soon." By this time C.C. had stood up and was making her way over to Lelouch, only then noticing the headset over his head.

"Will you ever be satisfied?" C.C. asked with mirth, smirking at the sight of what she felt inclined to call workaholic-Lelouch.

Removing the headset and casting it aside, Lelouch responded, "Will you ever do more than freeload?"

"I have no obligation to do anything, boy. Remember that."

"So long as I am the one you are bound to, you have little choice in the matter."

She seemed to consider that for a moment. "Beyond keeping you alive, nothing is my _obligation_. The rest are personal choices."

Lelouch chuckled, a light noise that C.C. had to strain herself to hear. His voice rose and fell as his chuckle slowly expanded into a full on laugh that soon proved to be contagious, as C.C. chuckled as well. At last Lelouch got his laughter under control, composing himself to such an extent that it was as if he hadn't laughed to begin with. "To answer your question, there is still much I need to do. To that end, monotonous things such as this is necessary. Does that _satisfy_ you?"

With a shrug she said, "As much as I expect to get, from you."

Lelouch's eyes didn't leave either the laptop screen or the papers in front of him for another twenty minutes, always reading or always writing. It was a wonder to C.C. how he managed to maintain his cool doing such nerve wrackingly boring tasks, but it hadn't been the first time she had seen someone capable of doing it. Even so the task seemed far too monotonous for one with a low attention span, and C.C. was forced to occupy her time in variously despairing ways. She was surprised that she felt relieved when Lelouch finally made to leave his work, although that was short lived as the phone next to him rang a moment later. As if having expected it all along Lelouch casually answered it, skipping straight to the point by saying, "I will make my requests known soon."

A moment passed, in which C.C. took to observing the room idly; it was not as if she had anything better to do to pass the time, right? The walls had been repainted since she had last stayed in that room, now a light shade of crimson. The beds were larger and comfier – a fact which she could strongly and most happily attest to – and the furniture had been either removed, replaced or simply moved about. The room seemed entirely different from the room she remembered – an ironic thought that was, remembering things – and it had a more quaint feel, as if inviting you into its depths, like the soothing blaze of a fire in a family's fireplace at Christmas.

Call after call came in rapid succession of one another, to the point where C.C. had toyed with the idea of ripping out the phone's electrical cord more than once. Always Lelouch would answer it and, after a couple seconds' pause, would say, "I will make my demands known soon." It was a wonder to her how Lelouch could maintain his cool _now_ as well, but C.C. didn't voice her questions. Rather, she enthralled herself in the interesting motions and other things Lelouch did as he went about his work. Like how when he was really focused, his brows would knit together and he would often lick at his lips. And when he was thinking, he would place his head in the palm of his hand, drumming his fingers against his cheekbone to a beat C.C. could only faintly remember. These were just a couple of the things that made up the interesting enigma that was Lelouch.

At long last, when all the calls seemed finished and Lelouch's work seemed complete, C.C. was just about ready to burst. For the past _hour_, her only solace had been in the distant hope of escaping the repetitive actions with more sleep. And alas, that hope eventually failed her. Stripped of that single hope, there had been nothing to do but wait out the boredom that enveloped the room. It hadn't bothered her too much until now, sitting around while Lelouch did the many monotonous things he did. But every person had a line drawn, and she, unfortunately, was no exception. Lelouch learned that the hard way as he turned around in his seat, only to be met by a cold glare from the witch.

"You..." C.C.'s previous observation played its role as Lelouch began idly drumming his fingers against his cheekbone, wracking his brain in search of the reason for her annoyance. But since the monotonous tasks that were boring to C.C. were necessary occurrences with no real problem whatsoever, he found no such reason. Scowling, he asked, "What is it?"

"If Charles doesn't kill you, all this working will certainly finish the job."

The thought occurred to Lelouch that the only reason she cared whether he lived or died was for their contract. It should have been common sense to him, it really should have been, but the thought actually sent a spike of pain through him. He started to get sick to his stomach at the thought. In order to test this theory he said, "I suspected all along I may die. I've been prepared to all along."

If the notion bothered C.C., she didn't show it. But what she said next hurt Lelouch just as much, "So long as you remember your promises, what happens afterward is of no importance to me."

The silence that followed was heavy, the true meaning behind it hidden to C.C., try as she might to understand it. Lelouch slowly turned around, his expression unreadable as it vanished from her sight. Typing followed as Lelouch dove into matters he had planned to set aside for later, filling out various things and reading through others intently. His focus diminished not, simply transferring from one object – C.C. - to another. Being ignored in such a manner managed to sour C.C.'s mood ever so slightly, and she yearned to break the silence, a desire she didn't know she had bubbling within her. But when several minutes passed with nothing but Lelouch's typing penetrating the silence, C.C. took matters into her own hands and snapped, perhaps too harshly, "What is your problem?"

Lelouch made no sign of having acknowledged her words, but his fingers slowed slightly as he said bitterly, "Nothing." He abruptly shut his laptop, unplugging the cord attached to its back and lifted it, piling the many papers on his table atop it and making for the door. Pausing just before it, he looked over his shoulder with an expression devoid of anything but the glint his eyes – contacts or not – always had. "Stay," he said, gesturing to the floor near where she stood, as if she were a trained dog that he expected complete obedience from. Which was ironic, given what lay beneath the contacts he wore.

"Lelouch --"

Lelouch's eyes flashed with barely restrained anger and his face contorted into an expression displaying barely contained rage, though he managed to keep his cool as he snapped, "Stay." Before C.C. could get another word in Lelouch was gone, storming off down the hall toward a different locale, one uninhabited by green haired witches. Various soldiers greeted him in the halls, though he gave them no more than a small nod or a mumbled greeting in return as he passed them by, pausing for no-one.

C.C. settled into the seat Lelouch had occupied with a wistful sigh, comprehension overtaking her suddenly. "Yes, I know," sighed C.C., looking toward the ceiling distantly. "It has to be done this way, Marianne." She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "Do I love him? How could you ask me if I love a tool?"

o--o

The Avalon shook violently as an explosion – no doubt a rocket from one of the many Knightmare Frames below – struck its Port side, tearing the flesh away from the wide radius encompassed in the explosion. The Avalon was by no means a weak vessel, though. Rather, it was bordering on invincible. Its only flaw was in its inability to fight Knightmare Frames effectively, making it a sitting duck in such an instance. But the defenses and the armor coating the Avalon made it a very well fortified sitting duck. This battle could well atest to that, as the Avalon had been struck by rockets many times, five of which had all hit the Port side. These explosions started occurring less and less frequently as the battle progressed, however.

Down below, it was absolute chaos. The fight to take control of El Alamein had turned into one of complete carnage. Strategy was nearly nonexistant in the throng of back and forth changing of tides, Knightmare Frames throwing themselves at the enemy. The few that broke through the enemy lines and made for the city were wiped out by the overwhelming defenses placed upon the wall, obliterated by turrets or by the large bolts of polybolos and ballistae. Not even the best of strategists could turn the tide of such a siege, leaving their hopes in the fact that the enemy would exhaust themselves or in the eventuality of the enemy's main forces being run dry.

One might ask, was there a point to this bloodshed? The simple answer would be, not really. But that hadn't stopped Britannia before, and it most certainly wouldn't stop them from gaining control of one of the two enemy superpowers. To that end, every Sutherland that was destroyed and every pilot that was slain was worth it. The blood that had been shed was vast, but if the gain was worth it, then their deaths would be more than worth it in the end. But there were some who didn't believe that to be the case. One such man was the Prime Minister himself, Schneizel El Britannia. Which was, in part, why Kanon Maldini was once again putting his commanding talents to the test.

Schneizel, meanwhile, was elsewhere. Deep within El Alamein, in the basement of the government offices, was a small room. Within this small room, safe from the ensuing chaos outside, was Schneizel and the various upper rank officers of the Euro Universe. Warm cups of tea were shared and drunk at leisure, without any seeming regard for the world above them. Casual conversations sparked here and there, only to die out when a loud explosion rocked them. There were no hostilities present between the leaders of the E.U. and Schneizel, which was a sight that would have shocked most beyond words. In fact, Schneizel took a regularly active role in the talks going about.

"And then Graham, that lout! He nearly got me flogged for disobeyin' council's orders!" said one of the many men seated around the rectangular table in the center of the dark room; a certain Dean Welash, 3rd Division Commander of the Special Corps. He was a stout man of little over five feet, with a french moustache and low cut auburn hair, with a look of permanent annoyance to top it all off. He spoke with a mix of an itallian accent and a lazy man's slang, although it was clear to all that he was anything but either. "Th' point is, the damn council doesn't give two _shits_ what happens down here, so long as their lives are safe and their pockets are full."

Schneizel chuckled, clapping his hands in an appreciative manner, "Men, I trust you all feel the same way as Commander Dean, here?"

"Damn right! The word on the streets is that Britannians killed the pacifist leaders, but we know its all a load of bull! The war mongers killed them, and their petty attitude now as all of us dyin' out here for no reason!" cried another. Walter Limmerson was a man of considerable influence no matter where he stood. Being the Vice-Admiral of all naval forces while being a mighty four inches over six feet tall, he was an imposing figure whether you knew him or not. He wore long brown hair in an array of braids that fell to his shoulder blades, and his sapphire blue eyes were glazed over with an icy coating that seemed to stare into your very soul, while keeping his hidden from all. The only quality to be frowned upon was his lack of restraint with words, and that was a quality many disliked him for. That, and his adamant refusal to recognize good service where it was due. "But why do you care, o' Prince of Masks? You come here, asking us to grant you an audience, only to make small talk! Are we so insignificant to you?"

"Its bloody disrespectful, I do say," the man to Dean's right said, a man with refined features and a cunning smile. His eyes were mere slits and his face was scrunched up into a scowl, a feature seemingly transfixed into those living with a surrounding that demanded constantly overworking one's self. Jet black hair fell to his shoulders and all over the right side of his face, the left side properly having been parted toward the side of his head. He was Fredrick Oblinski, a democrat from the British Isles. His influence largely came from that fact alone, being one of the few from the isles not within Britannia's society.

"Please, I mean no such disrespect." Schneizel stood, opening his arms outward in a gesture toward everyone present. "Rather, would it not be rude of me to come in here and cut straight to the business that you certainly don't want to hear? I have made small talk in the hopes of convincing you all that I am genuine in the kindness I wish to display hereafter."

"And what 'kindness' would that be?" Dean asked.

"An opportunity," Schneizel replied, as though it were a matter requiring little more than a passing glance, to be decided upon and then left forgotten in a manner befitting something such as a meticulous form or a random bill. Which, to a man as nonchalant and carefree as Schneizel often seemed to be, it was entirely possible that this was such a case.

"What sort of opportunity would you be presenting us with, Prince of Masks?" Walter spoke up rather unceremoniously. And with the disrespect of using the E.U.'s spitefully given name for Schneizel, to boot! But Schneizel didn't seem to care. In fact, he seemed amused by the name they had given him. A name fitting of the many faces he could place in different parts of his life – kind and sincere, cold and calculating, tactful and persuasive. These were all different faces of Schneizel El Britannia, an enigma deserving of the fatherly blood the flowed in his veins, to be sure.

"An opportunity to cast aside the chains of the insiduous council, to have your own will."

"You would dare ask us to submit to you?" Dean asked incredulously, with a firm tinge of anger mixed. "We will not submit to Britannia – that is why we fight. Now return home and prepare to fight us with everything you have, for we shall not be deterred."

Schneizel chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I do not ask that you submit to Britannia."

"Then what is it you do ask of us?" Walter asked.

"I ask you to submit to me." When all Schneizel got were blank looks and muffled questions somewhere along the lines of, 'Whats the difference?' he sighed loudly, bringing the room to a complete standstill save for his other hand, running through his hair. "Do not submit to Britannia. To my father. This world shall ultimately be doomed if you do. Instead submit to me. To Schneizel El Britannia. And fight. Continue to fight. Exhaust your every breath toward fending off Britannia. In Asia my brother Lelouch continues to grow stronger – if you use his actions as a distraction you can avoid disaster long enough to plan what it is you wish to do."

"And what would you do?"

"I will retreat my forces for now. But if in three days' time I have not heard from you, I will take El Alamein and swallow your country whole."

Dean sighed, "So you are Britannian after all – resorting to threats."

Schneizel shook his head, "I am not threatening you. But if we cannot come to an agreement, my hand will be forced. As it stands I fight in Britannia's name, and should we fail to come to an agreement that is how it shall remain." Schneizel left then, off to parts unknown while those still remaining sat in deep thought, pondering what he meant.

"Should we trust him?" Walter asked at last.

"Trust the Prince of Masks? That would be inviting disaster. But we should hear out what he has to offer." Fredrick Oblinski said, finally breaking his own silence. All eyes fell on him and studied him for a moment, as though judging the value of his words, before one by one they nodded.

Then Dean said, "Pull the troops back. We shall see where this will go."

o--o

The blaring music that often accompanied the arrival of the 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire died down as Charles Di Britannia took his place before the podium, his shoulders broadened and his eyes cold as he stared down at the tens of thousands of Britannian soldiers. Veteran soldiers of many hard fought battles in the name of complete and total conquest. Soldiers who had families and friends waiting for them far away, back on the homeland. These soldiers would not be returning there anytime soon, unfortunately. These were the reinforcement corps under the direct command of the Commander-in-Chief of all of Britannia's forces not serving the royal family, Lewis Eldrich, of whom there were surprisingly few – the bulk of the Britannian forces was commanded directly or indirectly by either Schneizel El Britannia, Cornelia Li Britannia or previously, Clovis La Britannia.

The soldiers were dressed in varying levels of military uniform, ranging from a single stripe on the left shoulder to a Britannian emblem over the heart and several stripes on both shoulders, and were likewise arrayed according to the importance of their rank. It was like looked at a gathered group of different high school cliques, all bunched together with those the same as themselves, almost afraid to associate with the others. And that was how it should be, Charles thought. Self advancement, one being better than the other, superiority and inferiority... these were all necessary elements that he openly embraced. Which was why no matter how annoying the soldiers below him looked, they were a symbol of what he believed in.

Charles slapped his hand thunderously against the podium, bringing every last soldier to rigged attention. They stared up at him with mixed expressions of fear, determination and blind loyalty – ideal soldiers, all of them. Charles pumped a fist into the air as he cried out loudly, ringing seemingly to the very heavens, "All hail Britannia!"

"All hail Britannia! All hail Britannia!" the troops began to chant, pumping their fists into the air to punctuate their loyal chanting. It continued for nearly a minute until Charles raised a hand to quiet them, bringing them to a sudden silence once again.

"Courage, valor, pride... these are the very essence of one's determination." Ever the type for a more solemn approach in his motivational and highly effective speeches, Charles opted to open on a more touchy note than usual this time, striking at the very core of what he believed to be a man's motivation. "So long as we display these things, success and failure are meaningless things, right? If we display these things, we can cast aside the worry of possible failure, knowing we fought our best?" Charles paused to grant his audience an unheeded opportunity to voice their opinion, after which he said, "That is a lie. We all strive for success. That is what humanity should strive for.

"But our foes do not! The power hungry Euro Universe cares only for their standing, and the Black Prince – my son – cares only for self justification. These are truths. They will lead this world to its destruction. Only our path – the path by which we will banish such lies as their's – is the right path! Only our path can lead this world to its future! The end of this long road is in sight. If we can crush the rebellious Black Knights, and finish reclaiming the land from which many of us have ties, our victory will be complete! Britannia will reign supreme!"

"All hail Britannia! All hail Britannia!"

"Fighting is the only way to end this! The intrepid Black Prince and his circle, the falling EU Council, both must be eliminated! To this end, the way of the Britannians must continue! Fighting, winning, conquering! This is what the ideal Britannian does best, and it is what we must continue to do! All hail Britannia!"

Minutes later, after the speech had been brought to its conclusion with a few parting words from the Knight of One, whom the Commander-in-Chief had once served beneath, and the troops had been dismissed back to their monotonous activities, Charles slowly began returning to the Great Britannia. It wasn't often he left Pendragon after all – and this wasn't the primary intent for his departure – and he had grown irritated by the prolonged time spent in the heat of the Middle East already. Near the gangway he found Bismarck waiting for him, leaning against the massive airship's hull with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. They opened when Bismarck heard Charles' approaching footsteps and he made to bow, only to be stopped by Charles who waved a hand and said, "There is no need for formalities between us – we are partners, you and I, Bismarck."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Bismarck returned to his full height, at complete eye level with Charles. Though it hadn't been said, he knew his Emperor well enough to see the brief flicker of some remnant of emotion in his eyes. "Have we heard nothing from Lord V.V.?"

Charles' expression soured at the mention of his brother, as per Bismarck's assumption, "Brother has said nothing. I know not of his fate, other than that our connection tells me he is not in danger. But our connection also tells me he is in turmoil – his judgment is clouded, and his sight is wounded. He has lost his way."

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

"I mean, Bismarck," Charles pointed between them and he smirked, although it was clear Bismarck didn't believe there was anything honest about that smirk – that it was a formality that he put on such an expression when really he had no reason to do so. "I mean that we are partners. Brother can no longer be trusted, and he must be watched carefully. And we must act all the faster now, for Lelouch continues to dive into what he should not, and soon he will learn of our plans and will make his move. And if brother takes his side, as I fear he may, Lelouch will be ready to fight us – he already has the witch's Code on his side, though his hold over her is weakening."

"But if he gets Lord V.V., he will have both Codes. If that happens, we will have no choice but to involve your son." Bismarck seemed genuinely troubled by this, running a hand through his hair and fidgeting ever so slightly, although any other sign of worry was nonexistant. "He is a lot like you, Your Majesty. Perhaps he will sympathize with our goals."

"He will not."

"And why is that?" curiosity poked rather forcefully at Bismarck.

"Because it is as you said, Bismarck – he is like me. He will not be so foolish as to agree with anyone's ideals but his own. So long as he believes what he is doing has merit, he will not believe what we are doing is necessary."

"Is that why Lord V.V. favors him? What of Marianne's blood in his veins?"

"Lelouch is more my son than he is her son – V.V. sees me in him. If anyone can pose a true threat to us, it is him. We must do something about this – can I trust it to you, Bismarck?"

"But of course, Your Majesty. Shall we be heading toward Area 11 – I mean Japan, then?"

"Yes. We shall pay a visit to my foolish son."

o--o

This was how war and like maters were meant to be handled, Schneizel decided. What need was there for senseless massacres when you could achieve the same results through a well planned conversation? Why should you sacrifice thousands of lives on gaining land and territory when you could gain it all in one fell swoop using just your words? Any other method, necessary though they were at times, just simply didn't have the same effectiveness of a well planned peace negotiation. Weapons needed to be pointed at one another sometimes, and sometimes they needed to actually be used. But these methods – methods that, at worst, would do little more than strip a man of his ideals or some other nonsensical thing – were how it should be.

Schneizel was seated in his personal quarters on board the Avalon, looking rather pleased with himself as he signed his signature upon the piece of paper placed before him, on a low rise circular table with a lamp in its center. The paper held the signatures of five others – three of the men Schneizel had met with only two days ago, plus Kanon and Lloyd. His signature made the seventh, a finalized thing committing both sides to what they were about to do. Schneizel had to wonder if the future would be as bright as this was, but he didn't let it settle – so long as his plans kept coming together as they were, with him acting from the shadows like a good puppet master until the perfect time to strike came. So long as all went well, a desirable outcome wasn't far off.

"So we are all in agreement then?" Schneizel spoke at last, his eyes running over the paper before him again and again until he was completely convinced the scenario it entailed was one he was desireous of. It would mean a lot of the things he wasn't particularly proud of being skilled at, but the ends would justify the means in the end, surely. Even if he had to forsake himself to reach that end – that was part of his good intentions-paved road to hell.

"I don't like it, that much is for bloody sure," Dean spat, shaking his head. "But this is a damn good plan, and I'd sooner kill myself than pass up the opportunity to do this. If I must make these sacrifices, so be it."

"That settles it then." Schneizel stood up, moving with a feline grace to the other side of the table where Dean sat, and held his hand out. "For the future – a bright one at that."

Dean took his hand, nodding solemnly, "To the future."

It was later that evening – the time in between spent going over the many terms upon which their agreement would be made formal – when they finally settled upon an initial course of action. Ironically it was the course of action Schneizel had planned for some time ago, though he opted not to say so. There would be a televised confirmation of it all early the following morning, and that would be when it would all come together. The master plan for an ideal future. Tomorrow was to be a great day indeed.

o--o

"Schneizel will make his move soon. That ceasefire was not for no reason."

Lelouch softly drank from a tea cup filled to the brim with the lukewarm liquid as he spoke to himself between sips, his eyes scanning over the mountains of papers once again strewn across his desk. The devil on his shoulder was nowhere to be seen which, he thought, was just as well, since he had lately been growing more and more aware of the nature of her kindness toward him. It was a moment of foolishness on his part to have trusted her so freely, but now that he knew – and she didn't know he knew – he could guard against that front as well. There was an attack pending on that front for sure, and he would be ready for it.

Until then, however, he was rather focused on the matter at hand. Relations with Britannia weren't going to last – not that he wanted them to for much longer, now that the peace had served its purpose – and Schneizel would soon act, and he needed to be ready for both as well as his piling personal problems. He had to admit that C.C. was right in saying that he was digging his own grave, but he had acknowledged that from the beginning. But contrary to what he had told C.C., he wasn't ready to die yet. If it came to it he was prepared to die, but there was yet much that needed doing if he was to die happy. And because dying happy still had a special place in his heart and because dying with the world still in the rut he had currently placed it in, with him gone before he could right it according to his wishes, he couldn't allow himself to die yet.

On a table he had dragged close to his desk was a TV, playing some news report he didn't particularly care about – a wide shutdown of schools near the El Alamein front in response to the necessity of possibly needing to escape from Britannia – on a European news network that he knew would be the ones to first have their hands on what he was truly waiting for. It was only a matter of time before he would see Schneizel on that screen, spouting nonsense about one thing or another and of his heartfelt desire to accomplish whatever he had set as his goal. That goal wasn't of particular interest to Lelouch either, though he supposed having that knowledge couldn't hurt for future predictions of his older brother's moves.

"Students are in open protest of Britannia's intervention of their regular day lives, some going as far as to publicly burn Britannian flags in the street. There have been pleas that this in no way mimics the way the nation feels as a whole toward the Empire, but with extremities at their current high, disbelief of such statements are widespr --" the sight of a middle aged women dressed in a gray suit and sitting in front of a large desk disappeared instantaneously, replaced for a few seconds by static until another picture appeared, this one of a flag Lelouch had never seen, spread over a wall. In front of it stood Schneizel, a podium in front of him and looking miniscule by comparison to the flag, with its blue background and the image of a green snake, coiled around a tiny mouse with its maw encircling the head of the poor rodent. It was good symbolism, Lelouch thought, although it wasn't exactly an image one would want to remember as a superpower's symbol.

"This, brother, is not what I thought you had in mind," Lelouch muttered to himself, offering the screen no more of his attention than a crying child across a busy street would get – a minor annoyance at best, to be acknowledged and otherwise forgotten about. He listened however, offering his ears to his brother while his direct attention remained fixated on the papers in front of him. Requests for a supply dispatch to Kyushu to help exterminate a small uprising of selfish Japanese, a form of confirmation for handing over this month's allotment of Sakuradite to Britannia... they were lacking of any real importance, but they deserved more of his attention than his brother did at the moment. What his ears distractedly picked up was pretty basic, the opening preliminaries in which Schneizel would be securing his position by preaching the good will in what he had to say, that no matter how horrid things may seem on the outside, he did them with good intent and would accept hatred so long as he made people happier in the end. It was a bout of nonsense as far as Lelouch was concerned – he had no qualms over saying things he hardly meant, really, but Schneizel took that simple matter to a whole new level.

"... But we need to stand strong!" Schneizel was saying, his knuckles white from gripping so fiercely and so painfully onto the podium. "We cannot allow the world to descend further into madness! To that end, I wish to put an end to all conflict! But the only way to end conflict is with conflict, and so I ask you all – will you accept me? Will you fight to end conflict with me?" There was cheering and thunderous applause, and Lelouch could all but physically see the smirk on Schneizel's face. "Good! We shall cast aside our past, our worries, and look to the future! The New Federation of Europe! That is the name that shall go down in history as the heroes of an age of insatiable conflict! Not the Empire of China, not my intrepid father and the Holy Empire of Britannia! No! These two are powerful, but we can fight them – we can defeat those who spread conflict, and bring their conquests to a halt!

"But this does not mean we shall resort to their methods! This world must change through conflict – can only change through conflict – but it will not be ideal if we fight them on their terms! We shall stand strong, and we will prevent them from fighting! That is what this world needs! Not dominance, not supremacy, but equality! Is that not what we all seek – to be accepted unconditionally? That can not be achieved through their methods!" Schneizel continued to rant on for what seemed like an endless amount of time, preaching the same things over and over in increasingly different and increasingly persuasive ways. It was effective as a persuasion method, but on the stage the world had reached, it was a moot effort to achieve anything – that, Lelouch believed, was a solid truth.

When the speech had ended, Lelouch errupted into a menacing laugh. One so loud that anyone outside his door may have thought he'd finally lost what sanity he had left. The laughing lasted for a good two minutes before it died down to a dull chuckle, and Lelouch shook his head in a pitying disapproval. "Brother, you truly are a tragic hero. The world will hate you, and you still won't be able to change anything – you never can, with ideals such as your own." Then he clapped, as though the entire speech were a feat of theatrics made solely for his amusement. And perhaps, he thought, he had lost what sanity he had left – not that there was much sanity at risk.

As he turned off the TV the door opened to reveal Todo, who looked rather disgruntled and not thoroughly pleased – he had seen that speech, Lelouch decided. And true to Lelouch's assumption, the first thing Todo said was, "Did you see...?"

"That speech? Yes." Lelouch stood up, smirking as he removed one of his contacts. Todo stiffened for just a moment, a natural reflex that very few didn't have to the sight of Lelouch's bird sigil infused eyes. While placing his contact over his eye again, Lelouch said, "So long as we have this advantage, we have the element of surprise. Schneizel will, then, be a nuisance at best – a match for us tactically, but that is all. He is not worth our worry, Todo."

"Japan is still in turmoil, Lelouch." Todo crossed over to Lelouch until they were so close he had to look down to meet Lelouch's eyes, and there they stood in silence. Their glares pierced through one another, daring the other to present his point so that the other may tear it apart with a sort of irrefutable logic that both were more than capable of. Finally Todo relented, saying, "You know as well as I that Schneizel's words are sugarcoated, with the intent to make him a saint to smokescreen his intent. He cannot be trusted. And Japan still is not entirely our's, either! What if Xingke decides that there is more merit in siding with Schneizel? We will be fish out of water, without a home of our own and driven to a corner. We cannot take that risk."

He was good. Lelouch was willing to admit that much. If there was anyone who could match his own quick wit in such matters, it was Todo. While Todo was no match for him tactically, age and experience made Todo's ability to analyze things to the core just as good, if not better, than Lelouch's. It was for that reason that Lelouch respected the man as more than just a talented leader who could direct battles on a level that Lelouch didn't touch base upon often – namely, the ability to make quick decisions pertaining to someone's raw talents rather than making a calculated move as though it were a game of chess. Perhaps that was what made Todo his match in certain areas. They were both great leaders from different perspectives, both capable of creating miracles on different levels. While Lelouch's miracles were more revolutionary, Todo's were no less grand.

But then, Lelouch had a trump card against the logic Todo had brought to the table – his own quick wit in situations like these. "We won't need to worry for much longer – we need to make our move too."

"How long will that take us? If we give Schneizel time to solidify his position, then..."

"We will be ready in two days, if not less. Until then, can you tell Rolo I want him to keep an eye on C.C.?"

Todo's expression was one of mixed skepticism and confusion before he quickly reverted to his indifferent expression, composing himself before asking, "Why must we do that?"

"C.C. cannot be trusted – she is too freespirited, too self-indulgent. If we allow her to wander unchecked for much longer, we will regret it."

"But isn't she bound to you?"

"Only until I am of no further use to her. If she wanted, she could end things right now. But I won't allow that, and we need to keep an eye on her to ensure that is the case." Lelouch took a step back, leaning now against his desk as he ruffled his hair, sighing heavily. "Can I leave it in your hands, Todo?"

"If you believe that she cannot be trusted, I will believe you. But if you are lying..."

Lelouch waved a hand dismissively, "There are to be no more lies – our position demands complete honesty, Todo. Secrets are fine – everyone has them – but we must be unified from here on. Especially now, when Schneizel is breathing down our necks."

Todo turned toward the door, nodding in agreement. "I shall hold you to those words, Lelouch."

o--o

_It hadn't even been a year since everything started. The Geass, meeting C.C., becoming Zero... Zero had been born only nine months ago, and he had died not long after. Like so many other things in my life, Zero was a facade I had to toss aside in my bid for what truly mattered. But... what did matter now? The world created by Zero, Lelouch Lamperouge's alter ego was one that prevented me from forsaking the path I have chosen now. There is only the road I have chosen, and it is a road to be walked alone. Becoming a saint, becoming a devil... both were inisgnificant matters now. So long as I achieve what I wish to achieve, how future generations see me matters not. If they wish to hate me, to see me as a monger who spreads conflict... that isn't entirely a lie._

_And while it is far from perfect, it is still better than what Schneizel or Charles hope to create. What they desire is flawed – Schneizel wanting universal peace and Charles wanting a world without lies. Conflict and lies are necessary elements of a balanced world. Good and evil, light and dark, both sides are necessary to avoid complete and absolute corruption. To want to abandon that reality is to forsake any future. All people should desire a future, if nothing else. There must always be a tomorrow, one that is better than the today we live in. So long as we have that there is a flicker of hope for humanity. A flicker they are trying to extinguish._

_It is for that reason that I now must fight ever harder. I must cast aside modesty and all other shows of humility, and I must take the place in the world that has been prepared for me. To create a new empire upon which I shall stand is what I must do, so that I may fight my father and my brother in a bid to change the world. I cannot fight them in the manner I have fought all my other foes. I must fight them on their terms, take the fight to them and overpower them on a field that is not my own. If to do that I must create hatred and malice in the hearts of those around me, I will do so readily – it is all I can do, now that they have steeled themselves with the determination to do the same thing. Schneizel especially, who has turned an entire country into a war zone of endless conflict simply to solidify his position. I must steel myself in the same way, to be willing to do what must be done for the greater good. To protect the people, people's names... I must be willing to destroy wholly if I wish to do those things._

o--o

"Hogosha now resting at two thousand feet!" Minami called out, satisfied as the Hogosha's rapid ascent finally came to a halt. But the rocking that had overtaken them long ago continued, threatening to assault anyone not completely used to the sensation with an urge to discard the contents of their stomachs. The unnaturally strong gust around them didn't relent, assaulting the ship at its most vulnerable points to maximize effectiveness in its attack. The ground below them seemed as nonexistant as though they were walking on air. The walls seemed to be as thin as sheets with the frigid chill of the command center that afternoon. After so long on the ground, these regularities seemed foreign to the members of the Anti-Britannian Front.

Lelouch stood toward the back, dressed entirely as Zero save for the mask itself, a formality he felt he should take to give an air of a more formal appearance. In fact it did have that effect, earning him a second glance from people passing him by, intrigued by his choice of clothing. Strapped at his side was a longsword, the sheathe in which it was held hiding it from view, although the sheathe made it seem as though the blade itself was three or so feet in length. The visible hilt was decorated with a raven, its eyes a piercing violet and wings wrapping around the rest of it and connecting at the other side – a fitting picture, considering who it was that wore the sword. This was the first telltale sign of the change he had made, a symbol of his self-proclaimed importance.

Around him was the ever familiar sight of people preparing cameras and similar equipment, something that happened so regularly now that it required no more than a passing glance from anybody not directly involved. The only thing that people really noticed beyond Lelouch's choice of clothing was the loss of his humanoid accessory – namely, the green haired woman typically attached to him in one way or another. She hadn't been seen by any but Lelouch in days, and even then he only saw her when she was returning to their room at night from wherever she had been prior. They had forcefully distanced themselves from one another, becoming the distant partners that C.C. said they were. Lelouch had overcome already the feeling of loneliness at her absence, eventually banishing her from his mind entirely. That was far easier than beating himself up over misjudging his ally.

With the exception of the most essential stations remaining in place, the entire room had been redecorated for the sake of this particular broadcast. Lelouch's chair was much larger, and there were five unoccupied seats surrounding his, each one of five colors, shades or metals; from left to right, they were red, silver, black, gold and blue. In just a few minutes Lelouch would be addressing the world in much the same way his brother had, and the room was fitting of that occasion – more importantly, fitting of what they had planned. A far more elegant look that was hardly necessary of the command center of a warship, but a look that was all too necessary in the creation of what was to be a throne room of sorts.

Tamaki was entertaining a group of girls with a card trick of some sort while they waited, awing the girls with what was inevitably a poorly thought of trick that, had he wanted to, Lelouch could have seen through with ease. And while he had half a mind to – the idea of such laid back behaviour taking place on a ship that should be the embodiment of all that was serious, formal and orderly – he didn't, because Lelouch recognized the need for such calming activities when the ship could once again be on the move toward a new battlefield at any time. Not even Lelouch could say for certain when that would be, and it was for that reason that he decided keeping people in good spirits may be best.

As Lelouch watched the happenings throughout the room, serious or lighthearted, his thoughts were, for once, clear. He was at total peace, a rarity for him, and a privilege he missed terribly, despite his desire not to. He was finally prepared to take a serious step and this was the time to act, and it was in that time that he found such solace as this. Being able to sit quietly and simply watch, like a being of omnipotence watching over those beneath it. His every breath was shallow and burden free, not tense and laboured like they were when he was deep in thought, or when he was in the midst of a game in which his mind needed to overtax itself, else he and all those around him would meet their end. Relief carried itself on these shallow breaths.

"Lelouch, is this the right thing to do?" Lelouch's eyes drifted toward the doorway where Xingke was standing, looking not entirely pleased. As though it were a rhetorical question he pressed on, careless of what Lelouch had to say, "Schneizel has turned the British Isles into a war zone, and they may not now peace for a long time. Is it a good idea to spur such change in the rest of the world? And how much support can we expect to get, with the world as it is?"

"We have to act now. The world will accept us, because we are those with whom justice sides."

"... Justice? You believe in things like that?"

Lelouch laughed condescendingly, shaking his head in a manner befitting of the amusement welling inside him from that question, "Of course not. There is no justice in war." Lelouch's laughing died out and his face took on a more solemn expression, sadness overtaking his features like darkness would overtake the light of the sun at night. "But most people do believe in justice. Be it for their own reasons, or because they need something to draw hope from. Those who believe in justice see it in us, the people who had tested the full extent of Britannia's power and defeated it thoroughly. The people to bring the war maching to a halt, and even push it back. Their saviors."

"You would use our good will as an excuse?" asked Xingke incredulously, raising one very thin eyebrow quizzically.

"Not as an excuse. As a reality of sorts – the people want us to liberate them from the war machine over the Pacific. What fault is it of our's to accept that?"

"Are we any better by using such methods? We would simply be taking Britannia's place."

"We wouldn't!" Lelouch cried, perhaps a little too hastily. He took in a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, the tension of his occasionally short temper building to a near-boil before he finally managed to dispel it. "We wouldn't... we won't replace _that man_. We will take the better path, but to reach that path, we must do this. If at any point in time you believe I no longer have this interest in mind or if this is no longer possible, I will dispose of myself."

"Is that a promise you can keep?"

"If I can't, you can."

Satisfied with that, or at least as satisfied as it seemed he would be, Xingke took turned away for a brief moment before walking toward the chair with the blue detailing and taking his seat. Not long after Jeremiah walked in with Rolo, exchanged pleasantries with Lelouch – mostly on Rolo's suggestion who, to Lelouch's mixed joy and worry, had grown quite fond of him – and took their seats at the silver and gold seats respectively. Karen and Suzaku weren't far behind, and as Lelouch exchanged greetings with them in a like manner, trying to keep a distanced and professional level, he could see technicians giving him a signal of okay for beginning recording. As Karen and Suzaku departed, Karen for the red seat and Suzaku for the center black seat, Lelouch gave them a nod before turning toward everyone else, who had ceased their games and other tasks to await what was to come.

Over the next few minutes well over two thousand people filed into the room, fitting themselves into the limited space provided. There were representatives of various countries that Lelouch had managed to draw in, officers of China's military and, by greatest majority, citizens from the Tokyo Settlement, people still living within Britannia. The diversity of those assembled surprised even Lelouch, who could hardly have expected such a good outcome in their preparations. These people were directed by either Ogi or Tamaki to different parts of the room, so as to allow there to be space for any new arrivals. But it quickly grew apparent that the space provided simply wouldn't fit much more at a comfortable level, and so after just four minutes they were forced to direct people to waiting rooms where they could watch from large TV screens.

"Lelouch," Suzaku had turned around in his seat, looking up at Lelouch with misty eyes and a despairing expression, as though he had just seen a ghost or had just had a premonition of some horrible thing, neither of which seemed entirely likely. "Will this really be doing the right thing?"

"It will be doing the correct thing."

Any further discussion, and it looked as though Suzaku had more to say, was cut off by the arrival of one of the technicians who pulled Lelouch off to the side, saying, "Everything is ready now. Shall we begin?"

"We shall."

Lelouch took his place and did nothing but wait. To his left the technician was taking his place beside the camera, counting down with his fingers to zero before pressing a button on the side of the camera and giving a thumbs up. Given his cue, Lelouch began what was to be a long speech rather simply, in the same dramatic fashion that he always applied. The dramatic fashion that, even to him, was growing tiresome to use. "Greed and supremacy..." he said slowly, almost under his breath, as though he were trying to cast a bad memory from his mind. "These are elements of a world that is not ideal. These are things that should not be looked upon with reverence and granted applause, but things that should be frowned upon and cast aside. To be greedy is to seek self-fulfillment, to want nothing but what is for you – is that right? And supremacy, dominance, superiority – should anyone be any of these things? Should one person stand above all, as a god?

"No, that is wrong. People strive to be superior, but should we put such focus onto whether we are better or worse? Society builds itself upon a hierarchy by which even those inferior have a place, a use, and are thus superior in that regard. What right has Britannia to force the world into a state where only those inherently superior have worth? What right have they to deny everyone the possibility of advancement, to better themselves, to become superior themselves? I stand before you as an example of that – someone discarded by His Majesty, the 98th Emperor, who has evaded his judgment and reached to where I now stand. Should not every person have that same opportunity? The opportunity to achieve greatness with what they have, to become superior themselves? That is the right that this world deserves.

"Similarly, does Schneizel El Britannia have the right to do what he does? To preach ideals he cares nothing for, to turn a fraction of the world into his enslaved dominion? The British Isles lay now in ruins, a mere memory of its past brilliance. A country of war and strife, that is what he has created. He will pacify the country and then set his sights inevitably elsewhere, betraying his oath to simply remain defensive. He will do no such thing – he, like Britannia, must be stopped. And who does that leave to stop them? Can the many nations of this world hope to fight them and win? No, not even we can hope for that. Can we hope for Britannia to reform, and allow it to do as it pleases? Not even the integration of the Japanese can help them atone, and so I say they are beyond such redemption! There is no desirable future with Britannia! And so I lay before you all this proposition; an alliance!

"The Empire of China shall, under my command, hereafter become the United States! With the Empire of China as our first state, we send this appeal to the world – join us! Fight with us, and we shall be strong enough to fight. Fight with me, and Britannia will fall. Fight with me, and Schneizel shall be brought to justice. This world can be returned to its former splendor, if you but side with me!" Roaring applause finally broke his monologue, filling the room with a torrent of cheers and clapping so loud that Lelouch feared for his hearing for the briefest of moments. He finally resigned himself to a moment's pause when the sounds of approval ceased not even after several minutes. Among other things, it was a sign of the popularity of his plan, which was a great relief to him. At long last he would be in the position he needed to be in to truly begin his battle. The world would be at the tips of his fingers before long, to weave and distort into the world he desired it to be.

Though receiving unanimous agreement and support would have been too much to ask, naturally. Lelouch had expected there to be a few who felt it necessary to contest his right to distort the world in such a manner, and while Lelouch found the sentiment noble, he hadn't exactly been too enthused by the possibility of them speaking against him. And so when several people cried out that he was trying to build his own power and that his words were no more trustworthy than Schneizel's or Charles', it had taken him several seconds to formulate a response that wouldn't press others to test him in the same way.

"I can ensure you that my words are true! Grant me some time, and I will show to you the extent of our power, and that my desire to fight Britannia and Schneizel to the end is true! I shall do so with nothing but the power with which I presently hold, and my five knights!" cried Lelouch, glaring daggers toward the offenders, one after the other in what he hoped was a threatening and thus convincing manner.

"Your knights?"

"The Five Knights that make up the aces of our army, to combat the Knights of the Rounds that we shall inevitably face someday." At that the five seated around him stood as he announced them in turn, "Li Xingke, my Blue Knight!" Then Rolo stood, "Rolo Haliburton, my Gold Knight!" Next to stand was Jeremiah, look haughty and all too pleased with himself, "Jeremiah Gottwald, my Silver Knight!" Following him was Karen, "Karen Kozuki, the Red Knight!" Lastly was Suzaku, standing rigid at attention, as though being berated by a superior, "And the head of the United States' Five Knights, Suzaku Kururugi, the Black Knight! As five people above all others, these five have the distinction of being rivals to the Knights of the Rounds, answerable only to the highest ranked and, thus, among the most skilled pilots in the world!"

--

So, as I said, this isn't exactly ideal in my eyes. But it will suffice, until I decide to go back (should I decide to) and alter it to make it flow better. Hopefully this will do. If not, well, I'm not exactly fishing for nothing but support anyway. I expect criticism.


	23. Curse of Codes

... Round of applause, anyone? Really, I have no idea where my muse for this went. I got halfway through it and them I just... lost all drive to continue. Luckily I didn't lose sight of what I had planned for this chapter during this long lapse, though. So... Sorry? Doesn't cut it, huh... I shall go get my groveling outfit now. I have a feeling I'll be needing it to get my meager excuse for a 'fanbase' – do I even have one? - back. And the saddest part is, I actually cut this chapter in half because it was getting too long. That, and I decided the latter half of this chapter has such a high climactic factor that it deserves a chapter of it's own.

More importantly – albeit arguably so – is that I think I got more criticism last chapter than I have ever before – oddly, that delights me. I admit that my ideas aren't absolute and perfect and that which may have made sense to me may not be convincing to everyone else; I'm not a professional author and I don't pretend to be, so I expect myself to make mistakes. But it helps when people point them out so that I can learn from them (since I do want to be an author, knowing where I need improvement is imperative to me).

But there was some criticism that wasn't a mistake on my part, so I will set people's minds to rest regarding those. First of all (mainly because it is simple), my reason for making the United States is a simple matter of making a parallel to the real world United States (more or less in response to the premise of the original failure of the American Revolution in Britannian History), and there will be more development regarding it that will make it differ greatly from a Federation. And for Schneizel, it being a Federation is (as with most of his claims, as I explained) a mask to the true nature of it all, which, like the US, will receive more coverage later on.

And HyuugaHotness, I saved you because I have a lot to say (primarily because you did point out a couple mistakes on my part). The negotiations scene was originally intended to be far longer and more convincing, but doing so would have made for a lot of repetivitity that is, in itself, a problem, I believe. For that reason I toned it down, which turned out to be a mistake anyway since it made things unconvincing. And for the simple matter of why they were meeting in such a manner, I described (perhaps not very well) that neither side was overly concerned with the battle and were perfectly content to do so simply because neither side felt threatened by it. Another unconvincing aspect, but that scene was probably my biggest mistake.

So on another note, I got many a Power Rangers jokes in this chapter. The colors were actually based off of their Frames (Guren is red, Lancelot Kosui is black, Shen-Hu is blue, Edinburgh is silver and the Vincent is gold), and no they will not be fusing in any way, shape or form. Seriously though, I didn't intend to them to be reminiscent of Power Rangers, although I can see where that came from. Thankfully their new titles were intended to be a seldom seen formality anyway.

Also, because it was mentioned, I will explain the reason behind the fallout between C.C. and Lelouch. It wasn't a sudden thing, although the events leading up to it were rather subtle I admit. The more they solidify their contract is the more their own relationship strains, and that will be the primary focus of this chapter and the next. After next chapter, development between them will be minimal until the very end. Hopefully this chapter will shed more light upon the reason why they drifted.

Lastly, though this has nothing to do with any mistakes on my part, I feel the need to mention that after now a lot of things will be different than they were canon. That is, among the things that still remained canon. For one, Geass and everything pertaining to it will be taking a nearly exclusive front seat over any actual fighting starting this chapter (though there will still be fighting; it will simply be limited to the more decisive sort... kind of like what it was in the anime itself), and my decisions in regards to it are primarily based upon my own suspicions of it at the end of season one (because R2, being what it was, trashed just about every mystery Geass had attained over the first season). What I mean is to say that, in reading this, forget what R2 told you of both C.C. and Geass in itself, because they will be completely different here. Some elements may be similar, but the general nature will be entirely different. Previous chapters have hinted at this, I do believe.

All in all, I really liked the reviews I got for that last chapter. So if you notice mistakes like those in the future (and I am sure you will), don't hesitate to point them out for me – as I said, I doubt I will improve otherwise. This chapter is relatively straightforward and shouldn't have any mistakes as extreme as last chapter did, but I will leave that up to all of you, should anyone point anything out.

* * *

"Haha, this is great! That Britannian kid is so busy fighting his family that he didn't even realize we'd be here!"

"Don't speak so ominously, Keitaro. Wait until we have actually done the deed before you gloat, will you?"

Keitaro – in full, Keitaro Asakawa – growled in frustration, his notoriously short temper getting the better of him. The cockpit within which he sat did nothing to alleviate his sour mood, smelling putrid from hours spent in it, filled with the smell of his own sweat that even now coated him as would remnants of water after leaving the shower. Oh how he longed to allow his Sutherland to roar to life, to go barreling into Kyoto and force the standing troops, little more than a meager police force with bottom of the line Burai or worse, into a sound surrender. Although, that longing came from more than simply his desire to vent his frustration. Japan would finally have a true place to rest again, where they weren't under the rule of another. How dare that Lelouch kid try to tell them that he would give them that!

The fact that the average Japanese ecstatically supported Lelouch, if only because he had been their martyr Zero, was irrelevant in Keitaro's eyes. Clearly he had some kind of ulterior motive, and this was some trick! And if not, the people were being disillusioned! Could Japan truly regain its former glory under the rule of a Britannian? The very idea made Keitaro sick to his stomach. No Britannian would ever have his loyalty, or the loyalty of the other fifty with which he fought. _They_ were the true Japanese, those willing to pick a fight with whoever they had to for the sake of their own independence. If that meant fighting the fearsome Black Prince in a fight where he held the advantage, a feat that none had accomplished – although none had tried – and few believed to be possible, well, so be it.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't berate me, Chihiro. Let me vent a little – we can't fight yet, after all."

"You know that we can't underestimate that kid. He may be busy doing whatever it is he is doing over near Tokyo, but he wouldn't have left the former capital of Japan – a true symbol for us due to Tokyo being under Britannian occupation – so poorly guarded for no reason. He must have known there were rebel groups working independently from himself even now – it would be too uncharacteristic of him to not be aware," Chihiro spoke in such a knowing manner that it left Keitaro speechless for several long moments, unable to formulate anything remotely resembling a sound retort. Chihiro was, after all, absolutely right – Keitaro realized that much, at least.

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

"The Gefjun Nets should be outfitted shortly. Then we may attack." And then as an afterthought she added, "Try to show some patience, would you?"

Keitaro laughed slightly, "You know I cannot do that. I've waited too long to stick it to that Britannian punk!" He patted the wall of the cockpit lightly. "Finally, the kid'll get what was coming to him all along. Retribution, for using us Japanese as tools!"

"Calm down, would you... What?" The small radar displayed before Chihiro suddenly began flashing a red warning signal, a premonition of sorts for approaching enemies. But those within Kyoto had no idea they were there – they had ensured that by keeping their Frames shut down until the time of departure – and there were no other military bases within the area. Which could only mean... "He foresaw this! The Black Prince is attacking!"

Sure enough, the blips for enemy signals revealed themselves a moment later. Although, to Chihiro's great surprise, there were only two. Pushing her activation key into the Sutherland, she waited impatiently until the Frame was operational, at which point the entire platoon of Frames did an about face toward the approaching signals. Speeding across the ground in beautiful unison were the Lancelot and the Guren, the former seeming to be preparing a large cannon of sorts while the other held a rifle in one hand and had its claw arm poised in front of it, ready to deal out the lethal radiation contained within. "Bring up your shields!" On an impulse Chihiro gave that order, unsure if there were anything else she could do. This proved to be a good idea as that large cannon released a destructive Hadron blast that tore through their ranks like butter, setting off a long line of Signal Lost signs along her radar. Some pilots managed to buy enough time to eject due to their shields, but the majority were either struck too fast to do anything or, worse, hadn't had enough time to raise their shields and met a rather unfortunate end on impact.

"Damn that Black Prince! Chihiro, I'm going after the Black Knight! You do whatever you want." In an enraged huff Keitaro sped toward the enemy, his enthusiasm unfortunately no match for the superior technology and raw piloting skill boasted by his enemy. Regardless he managed to hold his own, assaulting the Lancelot from the side in such a way that it itself was made a shield, preventing the Guren from reaching him quickly, clashing with the Lancelot's MVS with his stun tonfa. When it grew apparent that he would be overpowered he backed off, lobbing a chaos grenade toward it to buy him enough time to gain some distance. The rest of the platoon were fast to join him, readying themselves for what was inevitably to be a difficult conflict.

"We are the Black Knight and the Red Knight, Suzaku Kururugi and Karen Kozuki. Will you not surrender?" Suzaku's voice was cold, but it was pleading. He didn't want to fight this battle, to be forced to suppress mere civilians – rebels or not – in such a manner. Perhaps it was a remnant of his humanity. Or perhaps it was a part of who he was that would always remain. Whichever the case, the mere proposal of surrender caused Keitaro to ache even more to drive his tonfa into that black Frame, to tear it apart and show to the world that the fabled Black Knight was a joke. A traitor to his people, no less. It would be Keitaro to do all that.

"I would sooner die than submit to the dogs of the Black Prince!" As one, the platoon of Sutherland brought their rifles up, opening fire with a rain of bullets upon the Lancelot and the Guren. Sand kicked up and smoke billowed, making the outcome of their execution unknown for many seconds. As finally the sand began to settle and the smoke cleared, the forms of the Lancelot and the Guren could not be seen. Any joy was cut short as a massive Hadron blast from above tore through their ranks a second time, decimating their ranks as though they were ants to be stepped upon. The sand that had once again kicked up in the face of that attack cleared to reveal the swiftly approaching Guren, bombing down upon them from the sky with its claw arm at the ready. Try as they might the Sutherland simply could not keep up with its speed and finally it latched itself onto one of them, destroying it almost instantly with a surge of radiation.

Those still alive could do little. They used whatever they had, exhausting their rifles' rounds and running through their supply of chaos grenades, but all of their efforts seemed to be in vain. Any and all attacks either missed entirely or bounced off of the wide array of shielding the Frames had. Fear grew with every unsuccessful attempt to destroy the two meddlesome foes until suddenly there were many who held thoughts of regret for having not surrendered – they were civilians, after all, and self preservation was high on their lists of priorities. Keitaro was among few still motivated, seeing every unsuccessful attempt as buildup to what was surely to be a fantastic battle in the end. Such a brash nature was all a Japanese could display in times like these.

"I'll ask you again," Suzaku's voice was far more harsh this time, lacking the distant warmth it had before. "Will you surrender?"

"We will not," Chihiro responded. Her breathing was labored and, from what Keitaro could tell, she had nearly been a victim of that recent Hadron blast.

"Then as the Black Knight, right hand of the United States' CEO Lelouch Lamperouge, I will be your opponent." Keitaro had little more than a couple seconds to prepare himself before the Lancelot crashed down upon him, one MVS deadlocked with his stun tonfa and the other still poised to attack. He brought up his shield quickly enough to deflect the attack, but the swinging ceased not, hammering into his shield relentlessly. The blows began to take their toll on the unfortunate recipient Sutherland, and finally its arm was removed altogether with one powerful swing. Keitaro backed off, covered by two of his allies when the Lancelot attempted to give chase.

Keitaro hadn't gotten more than a few yards' distance before he joined the fray again, firing between his two allies at the Lancelot's lower leg. A small explosion coursed its way through the Frame's makeshift kneecap and it slumped for a moment, halted by the damage dealt by that small assault. The assault was too small though, and in just a moment it was attacking again, cutting down one of the Sutherland. As it backed away and fired a slash harken toward it three more advanced upon it, opening fire and launching slash harkens in unison with one another. The Lancelot was undeterred, swerving around all of the attacks while closing the distance between the four of them, taking one out with a swipe of a MVS across the torso while both slash harkens fired around that Sutherland and embedded themselves into the other two.

"Pin it down!" Chihiro cried, panic beginning to grow evident in her voice. Another three Sutherland advanced upon it with that very intent, but all three were swiftly dispatched by a stream of Fukushahado radiation from the Guren circling overhead. As though that were some sort of signal the Lancelot finally took the offensive, lunging toward those remaining and dispatching them with practiced ease. Many ejected before they were even reached out of sheer terror, and it wasn't long before Suzaku had almost single-handedly wiped out the entire platoon, leaving Chihiro and Keitaro – both with damaged Frames – and less than ten others still standing. Chihiro's entire body was quivering in fear; it wasn't supposed to happen this way. She had suspected the Lancelot may be seen, but even then it shouldn't have been able to so easily dismantle them. One person taking on so many was, no matter how she looked at it, simply impossible. And seeing that theory torn apart before her was frightening, among other things.

Suzaku felt a small pain build in his chest as he carried out this dreadful duty. He had really had no problem doing what Lelouch asked of him before, but this was a little more... ruthless. Lelouch's orders hadn't had a shred of kindness to them, as Suzaku had hoped when he had been summoned. It was brief, in which Lelouch simply said there was an uprising beginning around Kyoto and that they could use it to show the true extent of their might to the world. It was true, of course... but was it right to condemn all these people to death for those reasons? They were deserving of this judgment of course, but Lelouch had the wrong motives for passing this judgment. It was for that reason that these small stabs of pain grew ever stronger for every cockpit that ejected or for every Frame that was destroyed as a result of his actions.

Had he been right in becoming a traitor to Britannia, all that time ago?

"As you can see, Keitaro Asakawa, the United States is not to be opposed." High above, staring down upon the rebels with a condescending look in its lifeless eyes, was the Gawain. Within Lelouch was lightly trailing his fingers over his eyes, unhindered by the irritating contacts that kept his Geass contained. "My Black Knight Suzaku Kururugi has been quite thorough in proving this to you, has he not?"

"You...!" Keitaro slammed his fist against his thigh, his rage quickly reaching a boiling point. "Don't look down on me, Black Prince! Come down here so we can settle this!"

"I do not think I will," Lelouch's voice resonated in a mighty chuckle, amused by the conversation – which only served to further anger Keitaro. "You see, I have no reason to fight you now. You are an ant, trying to leave his hole. Why must I be the one to step on you?"

"You are too pleased of yourself, Lelouch Lamperouge," Chihiro admonished. Lelough laughed at this, making her flinch at the icy tone of his voice.

"Should I be more modest? Would that impose in others the true nature of whom they speak to? Foolish." The cannons on the Gawain's shoulders opened and energy began to gather within, finally to be released in two long streams of Hadron energy. The Gawain turned as necessary, wiping out all but Chihiro and Keitaro themselves, as they had been some distance away from the main gathering. When the streams died out the ground was charred, devoid of any remnant signs of life. It was highly unlikely that any of the pilots had gotten the chance to eject before they had been subjected to the Gawain's overwhelming strength, and even more unlikely that the life growing upon the ground below them had been granted the chance to escape.

"Cruel of you, isn't it? To be so ruthless..." As though the sudden destruction didn't bother her at all Chihiro tutted, shaking her head in a pitiful manner. "Is the world truly safe in your hands?"

"Twice you refused Suzaku's request to surrender. I don't need to show you any form of kindness." As an afterthought he added, "I would have gladly spared your lives had you listened. Perhaps imprison the leaders, but otherwise I would be fair."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?" cried Keitaro, firing off a few rounds on reflex. The rounds sailed toward the Guren, where they fell helplessly to the red Frame's advanced shielding. "You are a tyrant! A dictator! You want the world for yourself, don't you!"

"I want a better world. That is all," replied Lelouch.

"Bullsh ---"

"Lelouch, may we finish this?" Karen asked, her own hotheaded impatience getting the better of her. Lelouch laughed.

"Yes, take them out." The process took no more than a few seconds. Damaged as they were the enemy were sitting ducks as the Lancelot and Guren converged upon them. Keitaro and his Sutherland were the first to be taken out, by way of one of Suzaku's MVS being lodged within its torso. Chihiro wasn't far behind, locked in the iron grip of the Guren's hand, boiled to immesurable temperatures from the Fukushahado. As the area cleared from the resulting explosions and the subsequent smoke, nothing but the remains of previously destroyed Sutherland were left. "Suzaku, you got all that recorded, right?"

"Of course."

"Then we shall use it, and begin to expand our power." Lelouch laughed one final time for those whom he had just condemned to death, maniacal and without remorse. The fifty or so rebels here had been ideal people; people willing to do what was necessary for what they believed to be right. And in that regard, they were to be honored. But beyond that, to Lelouch, they were deserving of no more than his amusement at their deaths. That was who they had opposed, and that was who they were doomed to lose their lives to. And worse, Lelouch thought ecstatically, they would in the end be used to further his goals. A fitting punishment for those who opposed the future, indeed.

o---o

How long had it truly been since he was happy? A year? A decade? Several decades? Indeed, for one with no need for time such as V.V., remembering such a thing was impossible. Every day felt the same as the last, after all. Never aging, never changing... forever standing still, in a way. It was a curse, but it had been one he had welcomed all those years ago. Because it was for his brother, Charles Di Britannia, this curse was nothing. But now, in these darker and more depressing days, what did he have? What crutch did he have to keep the burden of this curse from swallowing him whole? To pull him beneath the waves of its burden and suffocate him, to finally free him... that, perhaps, wouldn't be an unfavorable fate now.

"Charles..." Though, the notion of death being comforting was still painful. Immortality, after all, was the mark of his bond with his brother. To think that he would have to abandon it was still terribly painful; a dull pain, but still pain all the same. And did Charles care? No. All he cared about was the plan. That didn't mean that V.V. didn't as well, but... what was he, in the grand scheme of things? Was he Charles' brother, or was he a necessary element of their plan? That was a question that had occupied V.V.'s thoughts for many a night till now, and still there was only one thing that came to mind – the need for a new Charles. That was the only solution, for otherwise the plan would result in V.V. fading away into nothingness, forgotten – he couldn't allow that.

Behind the boy bearing exceptionally long, blond hair was the ruins that acted as his current hideout. Not exactly quaint or anything of the sort, but it was safe. Safe from everyone. Few knew of it, and those that did were susceptible to the defenses placed around it, creating the perfect defense. Though, the fact remained that it wasn't as safe as their hideout in the depths of China, and that location had been flushed out and captured by Lelouch regardless. But the mistake of taking anyone lightly wasn't a mistake V.V. was about to make again. Making that mistake was what had aloud Lelouch to overcome him before, even with the preparations he had made in case of the eventuality.

That raven haired boy had, unfortunately, been the other thing that had occupied his thoughts as of late. Charles-incarnate, he liked to refer to him as fondly. He was unfortunately the spawn of that witch Marianne, but that was a meager issue. Through and through, he was more Charles' son than any of his many half-siblings were. Perhaps not quite as ruthless as Charles, but that was changing. And it was changing far faster than V.V. had anticipated. It seemed that Clovis' death was a breaking point for him. Did that mean causing the boy more pain would make him more and more like Charles? It was worth thinking about.

"You are getting weak, brother."

Yelping in mild surprise V.V. turned to his side where, unbeknownst to him up until now, Charles was approaching. Had he really been that distracted? Charles wasn't dressed in the robes he normally donned, instead taking on a more informal appearance of just a white robe lined with colorful embroidery; red and blue, with gold streaming down the center. The aristocratic features that were reflected in nearly all of his many children seemed even more prominent in this form, and the scowl on his face seemed all the more menacing – so menacing that V.V. could not resist the cold chill that ran down his spine upon catching sight of it.

"You are still being careless. I knew you would have set traps, and I already know how to prevent them. Why, then, would you think they could protect you, brother?" Charles strode closer still, finally stopping no more than four feet from V.V., glowering down at him from his vantage point of well over three feet.

"Being careless shouldn't matter if it is effective," V.V. muttered childishly, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring up at his brother.

"And is lying to me something that should not matter either, brother?" Charles challenged, returning a far more threatening glare. Despite himself, V.V. shuddered before it.

"Are you talking about me not watching Lelouch like I said I would?" V.V. asked.

"We have a contract, brother! To kill the gods! Or have you forgotten about our oath?" snapped Charles. He swung an open palm toward V.V.'s face, sending a loud smack as his strong hand connected with the childlike features of V.V.'s now stinging red face.

"I have not forgotten! But what is this promise if you lie as well?!" V.V. snapped in kind, stepping toward Charles in measured paces. For every step he took. Charles took one back, avoiding contact with his brother. "Liars cannot make a world of truths!"

Charles scowled, "And when have I lied, brother?"

"You have always been lying! I was never your brother – that was a lie! I was your tool, a necessity in your plan; nothing more! I never mattered to you, and saying otherwise was a lie! Wasn't it, brother!"

"You are being weak, brother! The plan must always come first!"

"And what of us?! We made that plan to erase the world that put us through what we have been through! What use is the plan if we forsake each other in the process?"

"We were ready to make these sacrifices!"

"If they were necessary! Not because they were beneficial to one of us!"

"Were your lies beneficial to both of us, then?"

"Had it not been for Rolo's betrayal, they would have!"

"That is enough." The very childish and sibling-like squabble was brought to an end by the authoritative tone of Bismarck, scowling at both of them as though they were misbehaving children.

"What is it, Bismarck?" asked Charles, looking away from V.V. almost defiantly. "I left everything to you Rounds. Or have you failed me as well?"

"Not yet. However, the Royal Fleet under the Knight of Twelve is engaging NFE forces in Area 18 and are struggling. It will be bad if you dally any longer, Your Majesty."

"Schneizel?" Charles cried, aghast. "He moved faster than we expected, Bismarck."

"I miscalculated, Your Majesty. I did not expect him to alleviate the civil war issue through a mass extermination."

"A mass extermination...?"

"Dispatched large forces to all key areas and destroyed everything. Civilian casualties were as high as actual insurgent casualties were, and he unified the entire country in just a few days," Bismarck explained. His face twisted into a rather disgusted expression and with a scoff he forced out, "To think you were going to let him have the throne someday, Your Majesty."

As soon as that had settled in, Charles chuckled in a rather depraved, cynical manner. "The White Prince follows in the Black Prince's footsteps, does he? Fine then. I will go put my ungrateful son in his place."

"And what of the Black Prince?" asked Bismarck, smirking in a manner that was just as depraved in nature.

"Leave him be for now. That ungrateful son will be poking his nose where it doesn't belong soon."

The wind whistled, kicking up leaves from the ground and ruffling those resting in the trees around. And some distance from the ruins, resting in a high top tree with those sounds surrounding him, listening to the entire exchange with growing shock, was the Gold Knight himself. This had been a place stumbled on purely by chance – V.V. had never disclosed its location to Rolo in the past – but it had proven to be a good find. What he had heard here, what he had seen... oh, how good this news would be for Lelouch! He, who had been searching for V.V. on the sly for some time now, would be ecstatic to hear this.

Perhaps he would actually thank Rolo. That would be a grand reward indeed.

o---o

Following the fall of the Middle Eastern Federation, the annexed area had become just another colony in the eyes of Britannia. With the area being of great import – specifically being the barrier between Africa and the Empire of China – it was an essential defensive position for Britannian forces in the world, especially with the entirety of Africa split between the NFE and the many neutral nations lying therein. When the NFE had been formed, however, the small area took on a whole new level of importance. It acted as the gateway to the United States' territory. And that, in Schneizel's eyes, made it as important as the British Isles themselves. Northern Asia had its own importance, yes, but that front was poor to attack from with the artillery the NFE had access to. And before long, the Middle East would turn all of Africa into a warzone, even more so if the neutral nations were to cast their lot with the United States, as Schneizel suspected they now would.

This was made worse by the natural defense the Middle East had in the mountainous port of Haifa, an important location along the Mediterranean Sea. That port alone promised the security of the entire area. Which was why the near entirety of Schneizel's forces were presently converging upon the small port. Its fall would promise the almost complete removal of Britannian forces from the area, granting a monumental victory to the NFE. This, in essence, was then a battle of the utmost importance, both in their growth as a power in the world and in Schneizel's influence. But his allies didn't need to know the latter.

The dangerous waves of the Mediterranean crashed all around below the Avalon as it moved low over it, swiftly closing in on the fortress awaiting them on the horizon, tiered high toward the sky along the side of Mount Carmel and seemingly impossible to attack, especially by sea. Around the Avalon were many fleets, moving at a much slower pace as they fought against the fearsome waves threatening to take them asunder. Each was armed with many cannons ready to bombard Haifa as soon as they were within striking distance. The assault would be swift, and the damage dealt before KMF deployment would hopefully be devastating enough to make a siege possible. Otherwise, this was to be a futile effort and a possibly fatal one. But that was a gamble Schneizel would have to take, even if it meant leaving his preferred field.

The skies above told of favorable conditions once they reached land. Rain was imminent, and the muddy landscape would prove infinitely advantageous for the assailants. The bulky form of the Panzer-Hummel allowed them to be far more sturdy, granting them a traction that Britannia's more humanoid Frames lacked. If the rain was to be as sudden and heavy as expected, Britannia would be washed toward them, to be picked off with ease. Unfortunately this would also mean the climb would be much slower, and fighting the elements when scaling the walls they would have to scale would be difficult. But this was why Schneizel liked being prepared – he already knew how to deal with that.

"Defensive weaponry has been deployed! If we progress much farther we will be in range of their cannons!" Neil cried, whirling around in his seat to stare hard at Schneizel. "Your Highne--- Sir, we will need to stop here if we are to preserve our forces for the main attack."

"Proceed another 200 meters and then fire. We will take out their first line from there," Schneizel replied nonchalantly. A heavy silence fell over them and the seconds passed with nonexistant ticks. Each waited in tense anticipation for the time when the first shots would be fired, as from there it would be complete chaos. This battle would be a test of their mettle against a well fortified foe, using sheer strength of will and basic siege tactics. There were no flashy tactics that promised a decisive advantage to be used here, unfortunately. Such things were impossible unless they were willing to absolutely ruin the entire city in the process, not to mention kill off a great many of its citizens. Destruction like that was beyond what even Schneizel was willing to do at this point. The fact that destroying Haifa utterly nullified anything there was to be gained from this battle may have influenced his decision, however.

"Cannons one through eight, firing!" The entire ship seemed to tilt backwards as the cannons that had been – with much difficulty – outfitted onto it fired at once, sending their respective projectiles hurtling toward the large wall that separated the city from its port. On contact the projectiles exploded, sending many tiny pieces of explosive shrapnel scattering along the wall that set off in a series of smaller explosions, taking out a large portion of the wall, leaving the broken off pieces to fall upon the unsuspecting mariners, fishermen and other such people below. The turrets that rested along the wall remained relatively intact, although several were dislodged from the loss of wall holding it. Those still in place fired one after another, sending large missiles soaring in a downward motion toward the approaching ships.

"Anti-ship missiles! If those hit, we...!" Neil cried, panic overtaking him.

If Schneizel held any worry, it was hidden behind a cool mask of indifference. "Move port side, twenty degrees. Fire the main cannon toward the sea."

It took the cannon less than a second to line up, and another two to fire. As it neared the water the much larger projectile exploded, sending a massive wall of water spurting into the air in front of the Avalon. As the missiles neared the wall they were immediately sent into a steep decline, embedding themselves deep within the sea, harmless. A moment later the next wave of shots from the Avalon's cannons and those of the fleet below fired, resulting in another fireworks show of explosions along the large wall. In their wake was a crumbling wall, no longer able to hold its own weight, quickly crumbling. Cheers of joy poured from everyone, both awed and delighted by their success thus far.

"Full speed ahead," Schneizel said, waving an arm to the side. "Deploy all available VTOL units and ready the next wave. Drop them off on tier two and begin the assault."

"VTOL units going through system check now." A pause, "All clear. VTOL units deploying!"

One by one the large, bird-like transport units took flight, soaring over the raging sea. Beneath them, held in an awkward vice-like grip were Panzer-Hummels, ready for the conflict to come. The VTOL dipped and swerved as they went, dodging whatever was fired at them from below. Above clouds continued to gather, giving an impending sign of the coming storm. They soared over the still crumbling wall and over the city beyond. Some dropped their loads into the city, but the majority continued on to the next tier, where a line of Sutherland were taking aim. As the Panzer-Hummel landed both sides opened fire, they began what was to be a brutal and bloody conflict.

"Naval units, deploy! Take control of the port and isolate them!" Schneizel ordered, his voice now booming with haughty authority.

Small ships dropped from the large ships below, each carrying a Panzer-Hummel in much the same way the VTOL did, with the exception that they were strapped in at the feet rather than caught by the shoulders in a vice. The small ships sped along the water, leaping off of any waves they came across and landing with expert ease. As they came to a sudden halt at the shoreline the Panzer-Hummer filed onto the land, opening fire on whatever lay in their way. They were indiscriminate in their attack: buildings, KMFs, anything but the civilians themselves were targeted. The port was a burning ruin in just a few moments, a stark contrast to the radiant and relatively unharmed city ahead, on the other side of the now rather low wall.

"Sir, signals spotted. One, two... ten VTOL units en route to our position! At the helm is... a blue Vincent! The Knight of Twelve!" Neil shouted.

"The Knight of Twelve? A decoy," Schneizel responded, waving a hand. "Prepare all artillery to fire, and begin rapid ascent. We will fight her ourselves."

"Us?! The Avalon was not built for KMF combat!" Neil protested. On the verge of hysterics he leaped from his seat, advancing on Schneizel swiftly, "Sir, please reconsider! You cannot put the flagship in such unnecessary danger; it will lower morale, not to mention risk your life!"

Schneizel waved his hand in a dismissive manner, "If we do not, she will harass all of our forces. We can at least delay her, and take out the VTOL units."

"Delay?"

Schneizel nodded. "Their forces here are too few, and with rain being imminent, Monica must have realized the disadvantage she is at – there is no way she could not have; she is that kind of woman. Which means she is out here to delay us until reinforcements can arrive."

"All cannons loaded and ready to fire on your order," Darin stated, finally breaking the silence he had been holding up until that point.

"How close is the enemy?" Schneizel asked. As he turned toward Darin, he waved toward Neil's seat with his hand, silently ordering him to return there. Frowning the whole way, Neil did so.

"The VTOL are beginning a descent toward the port now. If they land, our forces there will be hard pressed. Monica seems to be accepting our challenge, as she is heading straight for us."

"Fire the CIWS on port side at the VTOL. Ready all CIWS on starboard side, and aim all cannons toward the Vincent."

The CIWS on port side opened fire on the descending VTOL, sending several into an uncontrollable spiral to their inevitable deaths. Of the ten VTOL in descent, only four escaped the torrential firing of the Avalon and reached the port. There the Sutherland carried were dropped, two caught up in fighting and destroyed before they could even raise their weapons. The other two took cover behind a now-dilapidated building, where they holed themselves up to outlast the assault of the Panzer-Hummel that now almost entirely had the port under their control. When an opening presented itself one of them launched a slash harken toward the roof of a building opposite where they were hiding, soaring up to a balcony where it took cover and lobbed a grenade toward the line of Panzer-Hummel below. The grenade hit its mark, but this alerted them to the Sutherland's new position and it was destroyed in mere seconds.

Meanwhile, the Avalon had since begun engaging the Vincent before them. A difficult fight ensued in which they had a monumental disadvantage, but even so they did not waver in their determination to fight off the KMF. Shrapnel was fired and the many CIWS unleashed the extent of their firepower but the Vincent dodged it all, dipping and swerving around any and everything. The damage taken was a few small explosions from the fired shrapnel coming into contact with it, damaging the shielding on its upper body slightly. Monica continued to close in on the Avalon, taking to hand the assault rifle placed at the Vincent's side. A single grenade was fired from the rifle, travelling in a slight arch and crashing down upon the nose of the warship before it, leaving the Avalon's bow a blackened mess.

"Twenty percent damage to the bow! Fires are breaking out!" Darin reported, not missing a beat in his swift assessment of the situation. Schneizel grit his teeth.

"Have them put out immediately. Neil, direct all CIWS to the Vincent at once. Fire all cannons on her as soon as she is pinned down."

At this moment, time seemed to slow. As Monica closed in on the Avalon, now with two MVS poised in their lance-type fusion to strike, and the Avalon's CIWS opened fire on her, many things seemed to happen at once. Taking the MVS lance in a single hand, Monica brought up her free arm and revealed the needle blazer within her elbow, firing upon the CIWS toward the starboard side of the Avalon. All were eliminated in a swift turning motion, and then went those on the port side, the shells fired from them bouncing relatively harmlessly off of the Vincent's armor. Damage as a whole was rather minimal; only the areas already weakened by shrapnel actually took any damage, the extent of which was some minor damage to operational control. It was at that moment that the cannons fired, a massive wall of explosive shrapnel that exploded all around the Vincent. Try as she might Monica was unable to evade it all, and the resulting explosions sent her soaring toward the ground below, with the recommendation to eject flashing dangerously to her left.

"The Vincent is down! W-we did it!" Neil laughed, shaking his head in an almost-pitiful manner. "I can't believe it!"

"Our forces are climbing up to the third tier as we speak," Darin said next, far more calm about their nigh-impossible victory over Monica. But everyone knew that, deep down, he was celebrating their victory just as much, though he kept a far more professional appearance through it.

The third tier was largely dedicated to homes for the people, primarily due to the fact that this tier was the furthest up and, in times of war, the hardest to attack from both land and sea. Only attacking from air made this tier an easy target, and even then there was no real reason to attack it. But in this instance, with the tier acting also as the main camp of the fortified Britannian forces, an assault on such an area was inevitable. Sutherland and Gloucester blockaded just about every road and formed concentrated groups in all locations of importance, making an assault very difficult. Furthermore, with the issue of the buildings around them holding civilians, the ability to fight freely was severely hindered.

"Hold position and await the arrival of the main forces," Schneizel ordered swiftly. "Neil, deploy all reserve units at once toward tier three. We will need every bit of firepower we can get there."

The reserves ultimately didn't matter too much. As soon as the entirety of their forces had gathered, all hell broke loose. Both sides demolished one another, one through sheer force of will and the other by making use of its fortifications and superior raw strength. The streets were littered with the scattered remains of destroyed Frames in mere minutes. There was no regard for anything but eliminating their enemy. On a number of occasions a Sutherland or a Panzer-Hummel would be destroyed by friendly fire simply because they were in the way. Any onlookers could only describe the desperate conflict as absolutely atrocious. There was no justice or honor or anything constituting humanoid thoughts. Only loyalty to their own respective sides that drove them to commit such atrocities. It was as close to a war tragedy as there had been since the great flooding near Xi'an in China late last year.

A shrill beeping began sounding from the computer at the station which Darin was seated at, breaking through the tense atmosphere from watching the battle progress below. "Its a request for communication. On a private channel, too..."

"I'll bite. Put it through." The screen hanging over the window overlooking the bow of the ship shifted to static for a minute before turning black, the words Sound Only spelt in red in the center of the screen. "Must you play games, father?"

"So you were expecting me, Schneizel," Charles' voice responded, rumbling in a mighty chuckle.

"Cut with the pleasantries!" Schneizel snapped.

"Then retreat, pitiful son of mine. You cannot win."

"I am as strong as you, father. I need not cower before you any longer. I can take what you have tempted me with for so long."

"So your aim is to take this throne by force. How naive." Schneizel was fuming with rage at this point but Charles gave him not a moment to vent as he went on, "Conflict brings only more conflict. You will be a king of nothingness, foolish son."

"You are unfit to rule, father. And Lelouch will be a dictator. I will sacrifice myself to destroy you both!"

"With that power? You are weak still, Schneizel!"

"I will prove to you I am strong, father. Do your worst! I will not waver."

"Will defeating me here prove you are strong? You are a fool, Schneizel!" Schneizel gritted his teeth as Charles laughed, trying desperately to contain the rage he had contained thus far. "You are no better than Lelouch! Driven by emotions, by desires! Your selfish ways will not solve anything!"

"Do not compare me to Lelouch! He is a demon beyond salvation, a claw waiting to tear into the very fabric with which this world was made!"

"And then what are you?"

"I am his evil half-brother, the spawn of a lesser evil that will absorb all the hatred in this world to destroy the demon before him."

"If that is so, Schneizel, then I am the devil himself, no?"

"That is correct."

"Amusing! Very well, son of the devil. I will play your game – for now."

o---o

"So the Middle East falls into conflict as well," Suzaku stated evenly, meeting the stern stare Lelouch had been giving him with an equally stern one of his own. Both were dressed exceptionally well, befitting of the occasion for which they were dressed. Lelouch was dressed in a close fitting black robe detailed with such colorful embroidery that it was something befitting for only the highest of royalty, if not the Emperor himself. A black cap with golden trimmings covered his hair, with a feathered tail falling down the back. His regalia was topped off with a red sash tied around his waist, a hardly necessary accessory that had no purpose other than to flaunt his importance. And flaunt it did.

Although in a far more militaristic manner, Suzaku was dressed quite similarly. He was dressed from head to toe in navy blue; a shirt that buttoned at the side, with the symbol of the Order of the Black Knights over the heart and a pair of black wings behind them. His pants tore just below the knee, leaving an opening through which the black linen beneath could be seen. Leather gloves covered his hands, and the boots he wore were about as gruntish as they came, as far as he was concerned.

"This is all the more reason for us to make haste. We must prepare ourselves to face off against Schneizel," Lelouch responded, frowning. "Schneizel was defeated, but he instead occupied Tel Aviv. The Middle East will soon be in open conflict."

"The Middle East won't survive a conflict like that..." Suzaku mused.

Lelouch stepped closer to Suzaku, pulling his friend close enough that he could whisper without fear of being heard, "And as my Black Knight, you answer to nobody in that room except for myself. Of the forty-nine representatives in that room, not one of them has your loyalty, understood? Only I have authority over you. And when this is said and done, you will lead our army to do what you wish with the Middle East. Does that satisfy you, Suzaku?"

"M-me? Lead? What about you?" Suzaku asked, whispering just as quietly. To any passers-by, they looked like two close friends sharing a touching moment, or something of the sort. And while that in itself was strange given the people in question, it was nothing anybody would bat an eye over.

"Japan is still in ruin from our occupation. I will be staying here to begin reparations."

"Reparations?"

Finally Lelouch stepped back, growing ever more conscious of the fact that people were giving he and Suzaku rather strange looks – strange looks befitting a strange occurance, but strange nonetheless. "The Japanese have newfound distrust toward me after the formation of the United States. It is not rare to find someone stating that I am doing this to gather strength for my own ends, and that my kindness toward the Japanese is a front to make use of them," he explained.

"T-that's...!"

"Don't trouble yourself with it." As if to drop the subject entirely – although it was indeed a subject that weighed heavily upon Lelouch's mind – Lelouch turned toward the doors before them, taller than either he or Suzaku and made of a well polished wood that looked more red than brown. His lips formed into a hardly containable smirk and he waved his hand to usher Suzaku closer as he walked toward them. "Beyond these doors are our future, Suzaku. What we have been doing so far is terrorism, no matter what I have said to the contrary. You know this, I am sure. Now, however, we will have grounds upon which to continue our fight."

"We have come far, haven't we, Lelouch?"

"There is still a long road before us, and it will only get more difficult. I shall be this country's mind and body; can I trust you to be its sword?"

"I shall be your sword, Lelouch. We are in this together; don't forget that."

"So long as you don't either. Did you have Kaguya show them the footage from Kyoto?"

Suzaku nodded, "I did."

"Good." Lelouch's hands rested upon the curved handles of the large doors while he gave one final glance back toward Suzaku, "Than they will be easy to make use of."

The doors creaked loudly as Lelouch pushed them open. The many eyes seated in a large circle turned toward the door as he and Suzaku strode in. Each person seated in the circle had a flag posted on the back of the table in correspondence with where they sat – forty-nine flags for forty-nine representatives. Representatives from Sudan, Senegal and from the various members of the South African Union were just some of the many people gathered. With the exception of the few countries which had surrendered to Schneizel and the NFE, there wasn't a single country in Africa that hadn't accepted Lelouch's invitation to the United States. Seated to the right of a large – and presently unoccupied – seat was a space belonging to Japan's representative, a role taken by one Kaguya Sumeragi. A seat to the left of the large seat remained unoccupied as well, with the symbol of the Order of the Black Knights as its respective flag.

The ninety-eight eyes in the room remained fixed upon the two boys as they made their way around the table and toward their respective seats. Two soldiers dressed in the uniform of the Order of the Black Knights stepped forth to pull out the large chair for Lelouch, and with a slow nod Lelouch took his seat. After waiting for Lelouch to have taken his seat Suzaku followed suit, and the moment he settled into the soft cushion of the black chair the room seemed to fall into a daze. Nothing seemed to move, and the light breathing people took was nearly inaudible. Only Lelouch seemed unbothered by this, sifting through a stack of papers that had been generously placed before him. The room waited in complete silence as he did so, tensely. Finally the tense air began to break, and Lelouch smiled broadly as he said, "I am pleased that so many would cast their lot with a cursed man."

Whether the statement had actually been funny or not to anyone, they all laughed. A stout man with a large assortment of facial jewelry in particular laughed quite rambunctiously, overtaking the more subdued laughs just about everyone else made. He was the Ambassador and subsequently the representative of Botswana, direct aide to its President. A man of no small import, Khajad Rossa had some renown, if only due to the fact that the President himself was rather sickly and much of the administration fell to him as a result. The renown he had earned was hardly worth mention, however, as he had done little more than the basic duties. Even so, past rumors that had stated he was working alongside Britannia in its preliminary invasions into Africa made his name well known, if not his deeds. But with this rumor, his fame too faded.

"You honor us, Black Prince. Is it not true that you are the Man of Miracles, Zero? Is there anything cursed about that? You are a hero, if anything!" Khajad bellowed, his voice rumbling low in his throat.

Lelouch resisted the urge to laugh at how easily his false modesty had been bought. Even those who knew him better than others seemed to be convinced, and only Suzaku was evidently aware of the falsehood in Lelouch's modesty, though he showed no signs of being bothered by it. Pressing his luck in the modesty department – it was a valuable tool if used properly, after all – Lelouch responded, "But I am weak. Britannia continues to grow, and the White Prince too has spread his wings. I cannot contend with either with the power I have."

"Even so, you managed to conquer Japan! And with few casualties on your own side! How can you be so modest?" Khajad laughed. Lelouch had to wonder how a man such as him had been given such an important office as an Ambassador, but he allowed it too to pass. Now was not the time to be questioning the worth of his allies, after all.

"It is no fault of my own to appear modest," Lelouch replied. He rested his elbows on the desk and then his chin on folded hands, staring down the stout man down intensely for a brief moment. "The reality is that this world must unite in its effort to overthrow Britannia. That, I suspect, is something we agree upon?"

"Aye, it is."

"In that case, this is what I propose." Lelouch paused long enough to ensure he had the attention of everyone seated, and then continued, "As it is, we lack both the time and the proper scenario by which to form any concrete form. In the stead of an official charter, would a global alliance suffice? Cast your lot with me and grant me superiority, and I will ensure that someday we will properly be able to create a united front dedicated to peace."

Khajad's amusement had vanished upon hearing that. He cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to remain calm, and said slowly, "You want us to bend our knees to you? And you want us to believe that you have no desire for power?"

"If I have said anything of the sort, it was a fault of my own. I do want power." Lelouch remained passive as the room broke out into arguments varying from calm and meticulous to simply outraged cries. With the room in an uproar Lelouch watched, growing more and more amused by the second. But at the same time, this made him wonder. Would a union of allies such as this create a longstanding peace? There would always be strife amongst them, and eventually... well, he didn't want to think about eventually.

"The question is, what do you intend to use this power for?" Lelouch recognized this new speaker as President Alain Omar Bernard, representative of the relatively small nation of Gabon. Though he had only been in office for a short six months, he had already done many a deed that had justified his taking upon the namesake of their past President. By no means a patient man, he won points with Lelouch in that he was blunt and to the point, although not to a fault, and he was very reasonable and had the well known tendency to withhold judgment until he knew all sides of a man. He was a valuable ally in that regard.

"To unify this world, of course."

"And you would become our King? A God? Is that what you want?" Khajad interrupted. He slammed a first down on the table, steam all but pouring from his ears as he raged, "You would have us bend our knee to you in the name of world unity?!"

"For the time being, to maintain unity amongst our allies. When all is said and done, the council of this nation would be one of all equal states."

Alain nodded solemnly, considering this. "What would you have over us?"

Lelouch smiled, a genuine gesture of kindness lacking the falsehood many of his actions had held as of late. "Consider me a judge in court, if you will. No state may take action without consent by majority vote, and my vote counts for more – all for our benefit, of course. Aside from that, I will be acting as our unified Commander-in-Chief. Is that suitable?"

Alain chuckled, "So basically, you act to make sure none of us gets overly ambitious and tries to overpower the rest of the council, is that right?"

"For the most part, yes."

Alain furrowed his brow as he thought for another long moment. The rest of the representatives kept their eyes fixed on him, awaiting what he may say next. Finally he said, "Prove to me your intentions are just."

"How so?"

"If this union is to be, we shall make it an obligation of your's to dedicate yourself to the tasks we see to be our objectives, and if you stray then we may remove you from power."

"What do you believe our objectives to be?"

"As you said yourself, you want power to unify this world. Then naturally, our objectives would be the fall of the New Federation of Europe – specifically, their dictator Schneizel El Britannia – and the Holy Britannian Empire. Surely you wanted power because you realized fighting both on your own would be folly?"

Lelouch nodded, "You are insightful indeed. I had not foreseen Schneizel going so far in his bid for power, not initially." He ran a hand through his hair and cast a glance in Suzaku's direction; Suzaku was smirking, much to Lelouch's surprise. Clearly, his knight was gaining an affinity for these more sinister acts, an affinity he thought only he had. "At any rate," Lelouch went on, "if this is to be, then I have terms of my own."

"Which would be?"

"The disbanding of all military forces to all member states. These military forces will instead be made part of my Anti-Britannian Front, which shall hereafter be simply the United States Army, and the unified military force will be placed under my control to fulfill the aforementioned objectives," Lelouch explained. He had half expected to be met with cries of outrage, but instead he was met with mostly nods and the occasional skeptical glance.

Alain was one of the ones who had nodded. "But what of security? Naturally we need a police force to protect ourselves."

"I shall grant all nations my protection, as I have with Japan; you will be supplied with the best I can offer – without limiting my own resources, of course – in the way of Knightmare Frames and other artillery, for self-defense." Again Lelouch was met with nods, this time more enthusiastic, though there was still a small reluctance that Lelouch noticed despite how well it was hidden. "Then I believe we have an agreeable situation. Will you all agree to these terms and accept me as your King, to watch over and protect this union, and to strive to create a peaceful world?"

Though it could have been expected at that point, the response was unanimous. And thus, the United States ratified its charter, a feat of unity not seen since the initial formation of the Euro Universe, and even then a feat that surpassed all other feats like it. The rest of the meeting centered around that point, ending several hours later when all parties were satisfied, which was far easier than Lelouch – or anyone else – could have anticipated. Such a meeting would normally have taken days upon days to complete.

As Lelouch took leave of the room ahead of everyone else, he was quickly made very aware of the tugging sensation on his arm. The next thing he was aware of was the sudden shift in scenery as he was pulled into a separate room by small but powerful hands, that could have only belonged to a child and yet were infinitely more powerful than his own. Rolo, of course, Lelouch decided immediately. And sure enough, his Geass-imbued aide was standing in front of him as he came to, his violet eyes flashing with what could either have been a fierce determination of a childish amusement – odd as it was, Lelouch saw both.

"How did it go in there?" Rolo asked suddenly, though Lelouch could tell he was dancing around the desired subject of conversation.

"As well as could be expected," Lelouch replied nonchalantly. Eager to change the subject and escape the possibility of his inner glee being found out, he asked, "What did you need?"

Rolo's eyes glazed over with what could only be described as triumph. Triumph for what, exactly, Lelouch was at a loss. Nonetheless, Rolo looked rather proud to be the one imparting upon Lelouch whatever information it was he had. Frowning in impatience, Lelouch urged, "Out with it."

"I found the new hideout for the Geass Directorate remnants," Rolo said in an obnoxiously childish sing-song tone of voice, and if it were possible the pride radiating from him increased ten fold.

On account of that pride that Lelouch had occupied himself with understanding, it took him several seconds to grasp what it was Rolo had just said. As soon as it sunk in Lelouch's eyes widened marginally and he gasped out, "Where?"

"Kaminejima," Rolo responded quickly. At Lelouch's urging he added, "A Thought Elevator – like the one in the old Directorate hideout – is there."

"Good," Lelouch acknowledged, smirking viciously. "Good work, Rolo." And then, in a gesture that was worthy of being caught on camera, Rolo thought, Lelouch smiled warmly. In a tone barely above a whisper, clearly spoken with great trepedition, Lelouch muttered, "Thank you."

The rarety of Lelouch's appreciation left Rolo stunned for a moment, though he quickly composed himself enough to say, in a voice far too indifferent to convince even himself, "What do you want to do, then? Shall we go meet with V.V.?"

Lelouch nodded swiftly, "You and I will go with the Vincent and the Gawain. Even if we cannot kill him, we can at least make V.V. our prisoner."

o---o

Perhaps, Lelouch thought, power was corrupting him. Why else would he be in such good spirits after solidifying himself as the King of a union of nations strong enough to rival Britannia? Why else would he suddenly feel as though he could do whatever he wished – not that he hadn't in the past, but that fact was completely irrelevant to the subject at hand – and that, should he choose to, he could become God himself? Not that he'd ever want to; immortality such as C.C.'s was one thing and the surreal power of the Geass was another, but omnipotence was above and beyond either and Lelouch truly had no desire for such a thing.

The controls of the Gawain felt heavenly in his hands, yet another sign of power that he could display at any time he so wished, used at his whim to do his bidding. Power that surpassed the sheer power just about any other had. His thumbs hovered over the small buttons that would fire the massive Hadron cannons the moment he ordered it; his thumbs were mere inches away from being able to destroy just about anything before him. That kind of power was surreal even to Lelouch. Not as surreal as the Geass, naturally, but they were entirely different forms of power that both served their limitless usefulness. While the Geass played on his naturally deceptive and calculating mind, the Gawain calculated and compensated for his lack of piloting skill. Really, how much skill did it take to pilot of Frame that was designed with analysis purposes and sheer animalistic destruction in mind? Both suited Lelouch more than he'd like to admit, he added as an afterthought.

Today that overwhelming power would not be directed at his father or his brother in matters of the utmost importance on a global scale, however, although that didn't bother him one bit. Small steps, after all, had been the foundation of his swift rise to power. Which was ironic in and of itself, given that in less than a year he had attained a power as great as the power that took Britannia many generations and just as many conquests to achieve. His power was born of his own strength rather than the strength of those around him, and it lacked the solid foundation that Britannia or even the demolished Euro Universe had. The United States, indeed, was a delicate balance that had to be monopolized as it was to stand a chance at remaining stable.

But at the same time, it was the closest thing to a truly unified power that the world had. Britannia was loved only by it's own and hated by all else, and the NFE was born of dictatorship and so would die in dictatorship. The United States was born of a unified desire, centered around the strength of one whom they believed could make their dreams into realities. They were a fanatical bunch, if nothing else, but that small discrepancy aside the fact remained that the United States had the greatest chance at a longlasting existence. More or less.

"Rolo," Lelouch called pensively, eyes scanning the vast expanse of sea below for any glimpse of land. "Where is this place?"

"Ah..." Rolo paused abruptly, and it occurred to Lelouch then that he hadn't chosen the best of guides for this. But his hands were tied in the matter, given Rolo's status as the sole person amongst Lelouch's own that could have led him at this point. "It's a small island," Rolo continued suddenly, with a confidence that almost made it seem like this small bit of information was helpful. "I found it just off the coast of the waters near the Tokyo Settlement."

"How do you know of this place?"

"Once I saw it, I knew," Rolo said quietly. "I was brought here several times in my youth, while the Directorate was training me."

Lelouch ignored whatever else it was that Rolo was saying as he focused on the expanse of water below or, more importantly, the small island that had just become visible in the distance. It seemed covered almost entirely by lush forest, a rarity that Lelouch hadn't really expected to see. "Is that it?" Lelouch asked suddenly, cutting off whatever it was that Rolo had moved on to saying.

"That's it," Rolo replied quickly.

Lelouch pushed himself into a steep descent toward the island, eyes already scanning it for a place with as few trees as possible where he could safely land while still allowing easy access to the large cave he'd already spotted near the north end. Which was where, he suspected, V.V. was waiting for him.

When finally he landed and shut down the Gawain, Rolo having landed beside him and climbing out of his Vincent in turn, the sun was disappearing behind the rocky wall before them. Lelouch lowered himself to the ground, immediately glad to be feeling anything but the nonexistant air beneath his feet. It was an unfortunate side effect that came with prolonged use of the Gawain, but Lelouch suspected he was acquitting himself nicely to the sensation of moving on air. After all, it wasn't that much different than piloting an aircraft, in theory, right?

"Through there," Rolo whispered, pointing to the small crack-like opening that looked like it could fit barely one man. "The Thought Elevator is in there. They have placed many mind-based traps around, but I think you should be okay so long as you keep your Geass hidden and C.C. is not with you."

"That witch?" Lelouch coughed, glancing away from Rolo momentarily. "I'd not trust her farther than I can throw her at the moment."

"Yes, well, that is hardly relevant," Rolo said monotonously. "V.V. is still in there – I can feel him. And he knows we're here."

"Indeed I do, Rolo," V.V. said, suddenly standing at the entranceway of the previously pointed out opening. Lelouch remained unresponsive to his sudden presence. "I've been waiting, Lelouch."

"I presumed as much," Lelouch replied nonchalantly, rolling his shoulders casually, letting the resounding noises of their respective cracks fill the air. "Had you not, you would not be here still. Am I right?"

"As perceptive as Charles," V.V. quipped, taking pleasure in Lelouch's involuntary twitch at the comment. "Though there is one difference between you two I've noticed. Care to explain, Lelouch?"

"And what would that be?" Lelouch asked in kind, though he didn't sound curious at all.

"Why, pray tell, are you moving so slowly? With your Geass, you could have taken over Area 11 in a month. You know the right people to Geass, and you know how best to use them." V.V. smirked at Lelouch's discomfort, before striking home and saying, "You simply... didn't. You showed compassion, when in reality you should not have the capacity for such a thing. Why is that?"

A tense silence followed his question. Rolo looked back and forth between the two questioningly, and Lelouch glared with every bit of malice he could muster – which was a lot, he thought, amused by the fact – at V.V., his eyes taking in every bit of that God damned smirk that V.V. had the audacity to wear so easily. Worse, though, was what he had said of Lelouch. How dare he! Surely he knew the answer, and surely he knew exactly where the scattered fragments of compassion in Lelouch's heart had come from. He just wanted the satisfaction of seeing Marianne's son – the son who had been disowned and left without a mother in a fashion so painful that he should have been filled with such hate that he would have used anything and anyone for revenge – in discomfort, and in that regard he was certainly succeeding.

"And with the Gawain," V.V. went on, because clearly – according to Lelouch, at any rate – he was not satisfied with his victory thus far. And if he knew Lelouch as well as Lelouch suspected he did, than he would not be satisfied until he had struck at the very core of Lelouch's pride – his ego, and his overwhelmingly vast knowledge, though the latter was harder to strike at and quite possibly a byproduct in some regard to his ego. "Though the Gawain was acquired more recently, and is clearly not as useful as your Geass. Even so, had you wanted to you could have eliminated entire brigades of Britannian forces without breaking a sweat, and you have piloting talents that bring shame to your mother's name. So why, when you had all this power, did you not use it?"

And again, silence met his question. Though rather than being a tense silence born of Lelouch's annoyance, Rolo's curiosity and V.V.'s amusement, this one was born solely of Lelouch's refusal to answer the question. V.V. had gained a lot already, but he was not about to strip Lelouch of his ego. No, to do that he would have to fight much harder than he was now. And Lelouch presumed, or hoped rather, that V.V. had more important matters than carrying on such a battle.

"At any rate," V.V. continued, confirming Lelouch's presumptions and hopes, "you know why I have not run."

"Either you don't see me as a threat, or you see more merit in making use of me." Lelouch scowled down at V.V., digging one hand into his pocket while running the other through his hair. "Either way, you'll find I am no easier to control than my father, I am sure."

"I do not want to control you," V.V. said softly, though Lelouch could tell he was reluctant to say it, for whatever reason. "However, you are more reasonable than Charles. And he... seems to not care about anything but his own ends anymore."

"That is how it has always been," Lelouch laughed. "He has always sacrificed what he thinks he doesn't need in favor of what he wants." And then Lelouch pointed to himself and raised an eyebrow, eyes dancing with a bitter amusement.

To his bemusement, V.V. appeared to ignore Lelouch's quip, frowning and hanging his head slightly. "Lelouch, what has she told you? Of Geass, that is."

"Only it's nature," Lelouch responded, curious as to the sudden subject change. Mysteries pertaining to the Geass were, after all, things he absolutely had to know. Having such a powerful weapon without knowing a thing about it could prove disastrous later – probably sooner, however.

"So she has not told you that Geass is not a power at all?"

Lelouch's eyebrow rose again, and Lelouch felt like quite the fool when he uttered dumbly, "What?"

"Geass is not a power at all; it is a way of life. An extinct way of life, but a way of life all the same." V.V. began pacing, occasionally looking up at Lelouch from the corner of his eye. "I tell you this not because I want to, but rather because I feel that if I do you may realize what it is Charles wants. What he wants is not what it has always been, you see."

Lelouch grunted his acknowledgment.

"At any rate, Geass dates back to, and this is subject to interpretation depending upon whom tells the story, back before the birth of mankind. Mankind as you know it, anyway." V.V. stopped his pacing, looking up at Lelouch with an expression of such anguish that he almost believed it to be genuine. It was hidden behind a mask of indifference but seconds later. "The Geass Directorate is essentially as our kind always was; a society solely composed of people who have Geass.

"This is how the world was for centuries, or perhaps only decades – I know not. Around the time of the Big Bang, our people, save for very few, were wiped out. The integrated themselves within normal society as it began to form, but before long they were revealed and, systematically, were killed. It came to the point where the Geass Directorate was necessary, else we all would have died. We began forming contracts, rebuilding our own bit by bit. It was selfish and naive of us to think things could be as they were, but it didn't stop us from trying."

"And what Charles wants," Lelouch concluded, "is to return the Geass Directorate to normal society. A world without malice, where only the strong survive... those with the Geass are strong, and would therefore be accepted."

"That is how it was, at first," V.V. nodded, frowning petulantly. "But over time, this ideal gave way to madness. He no longer believes that society can redeem itself. He wants to erase society, and return the world to the state it was in prior to the Big Bang. He wants a world composed only of those with the Geass, or people like I – those with the Code."

"You speak about all of this," Lelouch commented, though he didn't sound surprised – and he wasn't – in the least, "as though you have lived through it."

"The Code brings that curse upon you. When you receive it, usually when a contractor is sorely wounded and decides to pass it on so they may die, you get with it the memories of our people. They are vague at best and I know not of a single person from the past, but the experiences and the hardships are all there."

"The Code, I assume..." Lelouch said slowly, piecing things together in his mind at a frightening speed only he was truly capable of. "... Is the immortality? The Geass is a toy to the people with Code, who create Geass of their own will and are immune to it themselves."

Nodding solemnly, V.V. said, "And in exchange, we receive an eternity of torment, living to see the same things over and over again. It will never end, not for us."

* * *

Okay, there are two things to note in relation to the last scene. Point one is that I had intended to include a little more, which may be obvious in the abrupt way with which it ended. But I decided against it for the simple reason of adding a little bit of surprise to the next chapter – more than there already is abound, at any rate. Second is that it is entirely likely that it seems vastly different than the rest of the chapter, but that is because my more recent work has forced me to adopt a more pre-modern writing style that might have shown more than I would have liked.

Also, I won't say when I will have the next chapter complete, but with any luck this returning muse of mine will not run away on me again.


	24. Betrayal

Reception for last chapter was generally what I anticipated it being, because I felt the same way when I went over it after posting it. The chapter itself seemed very choppy, with just little snippets of things here and there that really didn't seem all that important because they were all so independent of one another. And the parts that actually did matter were dulled by the fact that their true importance is in this second half, and I hadn't anticipated in doing so that cutting the chapter in half would affect it so greatly. That definitely was my bad, though it doesn't excuse all of the faults that were in last chapter. I just got impatient with some things and didn't give them the effort I probably should have, I suppose. I guess I can expect that being the case a little bit, what with me having almost no drive to write this for a long time.

And in regards to Charles, monkey kix ass, that was not a blunder or anything of the sort. In characterizing Charles, I've always thought him to be the sort that remains that sort of aloof and detached attitude toward things until it directly endangers him (ie. his sudden shift in attitude with Lelouch in ep 20 when he destroyed the Thought Elevator). In this case, while Schneizel was bothersome to him, it didn't affect him directly, much like Lelouch. The more serious side of Charles gets plenty of focus, don't worry (and no he will not be getting an annoyingly premature death like R2 gave him, though his death was the catalyst of my favorite scene in all of R2 – Lelouch's pseudo-coup d'etat, his epic theft of the Britannian throne, whatever you feel like calling it; I watched that scene at least fifty times while writing this chapter), it just isn't yet.

But I am glad to see such interest in my ideas pertaining to Geass. The majority of them are revealed here in this half, so hopefully the more impatient of you lot will be willing to kindly put down the pitchforks and other anti-author weaponry. Hopefully. God knows I'd deserve it if you decided not to; that last chapter was a sad excuse of a, "Hey, I'm back!" gift. It really was.

* * *

Cornelia Li Britannia was many things. She was the leader of Britannia's esteemed Royal Knights, the champion of more than her fair share of battles and a fighter like no other that even the best of the world's aces had trouble keeping up with; it would be no boast to say that, in a world where tactics had no value, she would be invincible. And she knew this. Hell, prideful as she was, she flaunted these facts. But with them came certain standards. Standards that were to be upheld no matter where or when, and to be abided by no matter what. There were no exceptions to these standards, punishable by a lifetime of self-loathing and disgust.

And one of them that she never, ever paced. She never, ever showed nervousness, openly or otherwise. So why was she pacing? And worrying at her lip like it was some chewthing designed for her to vent her frustrations on? Neither were things that fit the profile of the enviable Second Princess Cornelia, things that would make her appear weak to those who saw her as the epitome of strong. Among the women of Britannia's noble ranks, she was the most desireable, more so even than First Princess Guinevere, and that would be shattered if they knew she was capable of being nervous, capable of feeling threatened like any other human. No longer would she be above such human emotions.

Growling under her breath, Cornelia turned and punched the wall. Unlike the walls of the palace, made either of a perfectly polished stone or marble, the walls of the Great Britannia were of a fine metal, ultimately resulting in the loud cracking of her knuckles as they came into contact with the hard surface. She felt no pain from the action – if it even was there, it was blocked out by her subconscious and her insurmountable frustration – thankfully, and she followed up by punching the wall with her other hand.

Why, why did she have to feel nervous? It was her father! The Emperor Charles Di Britannia, imposing though he was, should not have such power over her. Unlike many both in court and in the army, when she returned to deliver word of success in subduing an area or to deliver intel recovered from the odd reconnaissance mission she did not flinch under the condescendingly disapproving stare he would send her. She would not flinch when he cooly dismissed even the finest of her successes, saying something like, "So you are worth something to Britannia," regardless of how many times she proved her worth. These were things she had been groomed to accept in passing since birth, and never had it bothered her.

But now... now, he was different. No longer was he just that condescending, almost arrogant and all too haughty Emperor that she'd been proud to serve not as his daughter but as the Commander of his Royal Knights – and he'd never have it any other way, too. Now she saw him as a frightening man, drawn into the same mysterious shroud of darkness that had descended upon Schneizel and Lelouch, corrupted them utterly and turned her half-brothers into demons. It would not be a stretch to say he too had become a demon, if what Lelouch had said of Clovis proved true. And if that were the case, then there would be no denying that the world was at the mercy of demons who would tear it apart sooner than they'd do any real good to it.

And to make matters worse, that demon – Britannia's demon, as opposed to the United States' demon or the NFE's demon – was now so frightening she could hardly stand the thought of facing him. She had paced and paced, with the doorway to the command center just ten feet away, unable to muster the courage that had once been an unlimited resource in order to face him. He would probably dismiss her question anyway, say that she was being foolish to believe the words of others and that Britannia's truths are the only real truths – something idealistic like that would be a fitting thing for him to say, after all.

"This is foolish," she muttered under her breath, kicking her foot idly. "He must answer for his crimes, and I will decide whether or not Lelouch can be trusted."

That being said, the matter of confronting His Majesty, the 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire became a matter of confronting Charles Di Britannia, a man who may or may not be as unjust an Emperor as Cornelia feared one of his successors – and was now certain several of his potential successors were – would be. Steeling herself, Cornelia strode into the command center proudly, ignoring the gawking looks much of the crew sent her way as she did so, as if they weren't aware she was even on the ship despite the fact that much of them had greeted her when her transport arrived that morning. From his seat Charles, surrounded by much of the crew, sent her a brief look, as if he were already aware of the reason behind her arrival.

"Leave," Charles commanded gruffly, glancing in turn to each and every one of his crew members. They all stood, hastening to leave while Charles readjusted himself in his seat subtly, glaring at Cornelia. "Speak."

"During my recent operations in the Tokyo Settlement, I spoke with Lelouch," Cornelia started, pacing from side to side in a way much like a prowling animal, which was much more in her element than things like pety nervousness or fidgety behaviour. "He alerted me of things that, had he not shown me proof of, I'd not believe existed. And I was made to believe you too know of it; am I wrong in believing his words?"

"A liar spoke some truth," Charles said cryptically, remaining still as a statue. "Yes, the Geass is quite real. And I am not so foolish as to be unaware of it. Schneizel yet remains in the dark, but he too shall soon learn the truth."

"So it is true that you too posess the Geass?" she pressed, willing herself to manage a glare from the corner of her eye as she paced. "And that you manipulated Clovis into being the man he was during the war over Area 11?"

"And what if I did?" Charles sneered, completely unaffected by the look in Cornelia's eyes, one that would have rendered anybody else immobile with fear. "He was weak, and he knew when he was born as my son that strength was the only thing that gave him worth. Without strength, he was worthless, and thus needed to be used by the strong. Such is how Britannia is."

Cornelia stopped pacing, staring down her father with as much intensity as he granted her. "I will not accept such a law, Your Majesty. He was not deserving of such a thing!"

"So you would become weak too..."

"No," Cornelia shot back heatedly, shaking her head to emphasize her point. "It is because I am strong that I deny your law. It seemed like idealistic nonsense, but Lelouch was not wrong in saying that we need to protect the weak. Disposing of them because they failed is just..."

"Inhumane?" Charles finished menacingly. He clapped his hands, and in scant seconds Cornelia was on her knees with four guards, all dressed in the finest of Britannia military uniform, pinning her to the ground. "If you believe so, then I shall find a more suitable use for the weak. Starting with you."

o---o

Codes, the truth of Geass, societies from centuries past... Had anyone but he heard of such things, Lelouch presumed they would have not believed it. But Lelouch had seen much since he finally decided to take matters into his own hands and change the world, and he knew better than to doubt such things. His eyes, with the power to enslave any he saw fit to, were a testament to that. But this information and, more importantly, how to use it was a different matter entirely. His father's aim was far more idealistic than he could have possibly anticipated, and while it didn't surprise him as much as it disgusted him, Lelouch couldn't help but feel as though he should've seen such a thing coming. For all of his perceptiveness, after all, it hadn't amounted to much where it mattered most.

What would this make of his plans? Charles' plans went far beyond simple matters of world politics and global conquest, into matters of extinction and world reformation... What use was thinking of world poitics in a world that was to be subject to such a thing? No, he couldn't dare think like that... Charles would be stopped, and world politics would still be important in the wake of his ultimate failure. The fighting would continue, there would continue to be prejudice, hatred... things that needed to be removed in order to create a unified and peaceful world. One that could properly look toward the future. One that was not ruled by Britannia and it's increasingly ruthless reign.

"So you did meet him," C.C. said dryly, leaning her head forward from her position sprawled across his bed, arms folded carelessly behind her neck. "And you know the truth."

The truth... He knew more than she was implying, Lelouch was sure. _"C.C. cannot be trusted,"_ V.V. had said, although he had not explained why. C.C. was trustworthy, though, right? She wasn't like the Black Knights or the Chinese... She was his ally. His comrade. She wasn't a means to a mutual end, at least not in the same regard Xingke and the Black Knights were. She did have goals that she needed him for, yes, but they were comrades in that quest... right? Or was he, as he feared she viewed him, a tool to that end? Somebody she feigned kindness toward as a means to an end, lying and deceiving like...

... Like his family had, when he was exiled. The people who had shipped him to Japan as a political hostage, disclosing nothing of his mother's fate. Was she one of the people he hated most, then? Or was she, unlike the Black Knights and the Chinese – both of whom were comrades that had mutual benefits from aiding him, a trustworthy ally that would still be by his side when all was said and done, be that with him uniting the world or with him living some depressingly reclusive life, like he had with Nunnally after they were placed in the care of the Ashford family?

"I doubt I will ever understand it entirely," Lelouch replied evasively. "I'm sure I am far too young to understand that sort of thing, am I right?"

"Age has nothing to do with it," C.C. said quietly, gesturing to her own hardly teenaged body, looking younger than even himself. "It's about whether or not you understand what it's like to be bound by time."

"Time..." Lelouch echoed just as quietly, tossing the word around in his mind. She was obviously speaking of her status as an ageless immortal, though how exactly that helped one understand the roots of her existence escaped Lelouch for reasons not even he was sure of. But now, with the thought in his mind, the idea of being an immortal himself was all the more appealing. What if that was what she wanted? Perhaps she wanted him to take her immortality, to thrust him into the endless stream of time while she was left to finally die after so long. No... Lelouch dismissed that thought immediately. If that were the case, she'd have already forced her immortality on him – supposing that were possible – and killed herself. Her desires were beyond a petty need to die, and while she had grown sick of living Lelouch had long since figured out that it was her loneliness that spawned this despair and any possible necessity to die. No, her goals were different... but in what way?

"It doesn't matter how much you have suffered," she added. "Only we truly know what it feels like to be bound by misery, to feel nothing but it for so long that you begin to forget how old you are, then what year it is and, before long, forget about the passage of time entirely. For me, I will still be as I am now long after you have died."

"You have lived far longer than V.V., and he wasn't alone," Lelouch went on, glancing at C.C. from the corner of his eye warily, slightly suspecting of her motives for being so open. Naturally, knowing her, opening up wasn't some impulsive action – only things pertaining to pizza merited impulse, as far as she was concerned. "You are not alone, though. If you are to be bound by time, so too shall I. And then, because it has been just us since the beginning, we will finish what I started and break time's spell ourselves."

She chuckled, sitting up and flipping her hair over her ear exaggeratedly. "Charles said the same thing long ago, you know..." She paused for a moment, allowing that statement to properly settle before she added, "... To your mother," with a sly, very mischievous glance in his direction. Like the ones she frequently gave him before things grew as complicated as they were, back when there wasn't any confusion in where their relationship stood. The C.C. that was hardly serious about anything, even his own survival.

"What do you know of my mother?" Lelouch asked, adjusting himself in his throne-like seat so that he could properly face C.C. on his bed. He had felt inclined to ask of his father as well, for surely C.C. knew something he likely didn't, but the inherent stubborn nature within him wouldn't allow him to express the slightest interest in his father, the man that was to be blamed not only for his corruption but also the corruption of the world entirely, who's sins thrice overcame any that anybody else could possibly have. At least, Lelouch believed so.

As was her wont, however, C.C. shrugged and turned on her side, back facing Lelouch. "Your father didn't want to exile you."

Lelouch would have taken the time to wonder why she had said something like that, especially when it was an obvious lie, but he humored her and her spontaneity regardless. "What do you mean?"

Looking over her shoulder, C.C. smirked ferally in a manner that, were he not already sufficiently acclimated to it, would have sent chills running down Lelouch's spine. "Charles saw himself in you, boy. When your mother was killed, he exiled you because he knew that you, being like him, would fight back. He wanted you to be strong the only way he knew how."

"My father saw me as weak, a liability that wasn't worth his care," Lelouch retorted. He stood up suddenly, removing the contact from his left eyes and letting the single Geass infused eye to linger over C.C.'s face for longer than was probably necessary. "I took the time to care for the death of my mother – I showed genuine emotion. For that, I was declared weak and a failure of a prince, such that I was no longer worthy of bearing his name.

"There are different kinds of love, of course. The love of a mother to her children, of lovers, of close friends... Charles Di Britannia knows not these emotions. All he feels is the satisfaction of his own bigotry, the boundless arrogance and malice that came with letting himself be drawn in by the power of his position." He removed the other contact from his eye, staring down at C.C. so intently that, were it possible and were she not immune to it, he surely could have used his Geass through will alone. "He sent me away, C.C., and he stopped caring whether I lived or died, just as he didn't care that my mother had been assassinated. Like mother, he spared not a thought for myself or Nunnally."

"No," C.C. deadpanned, rolling into a sitting position and crossing her legs. "He did send you away, but he did so because you would stop feeling love, caring only for your hatred toward him. This, he believed, would make you stronger and truly make you the equal he'd seen you could be. I presume this is no longer the case, as his insanity has replaced all thoughts of the world with thoughts of his own twisted ideals, but at that time he had your future – distorted or not – in mind."

"Such a man..." Lelouch muttered, deciding it was best not to argue his father's twisted sense of right and wrong with her. "What was his childhood like? Surely you know, if you know this much."

"Marianne told me much, and V.V. told me the rest," C.C. admitted casually. "Your father came from a time far worse than these, however, so it can be expected that he would be as he is now."

"Meaning?" Lelouch deadpanned.

"He had nearly as many siblings as you, many of which aspired to be the next Emperor, after your grandfather." Lelouch nodded, waving a hand exaggeratedly to urge her onward. "When the 97th Emperor was assassinated without a decided successor, Britannia was consumed in a private civil war amongst it's many heirs. Each abused their respective authorities to overcome the others and take the throne for themselves. And several succeeded, though their reigns were several days at most before they were forced from the throne and the fighting began anew.

"Your father, but a boy of twelve at the time, and his older brother, Vortigem Di Britannia, were of the few that chose not to fight during this time. They hid, believing that so long as they could trust in one another, someday the feud would end and the successorship would be secured."

"But it never was," Lelouch concluded, "until Charles took the throne."

"Indeed, but hundreds upon thousands of lives were lost – mostly civilian casualties – in the process," C.C. corrected, looking down into her lap almost shyly. "In the end, the streets of Pendragon were deserted. People feared the fighting of the many princes and hid. Children who were foolish enough to leave their homes typically died, caught in the brutal crossfire of one battle or another. During this time, fifteen year old Vortigem Di Britannia obtained the Geass. With it, he and Charles put an end to the fighting, killing all of his siblings. Charles was named the 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire and, now corrupted by a vision of the Geass' power, turned Britannia into the darwinistic nation it is now."

Lelouch nodded, looking away from C.C.'s smoldering and condescending gaze. "And Vortigem became V.V., right?"

"Correct."

"And when he got the Code, they learned of your past and set out to return the Geass to society?" Lelouch questioned, wondering just why he really cared about the irrelevant details of the matter.

Nodding, C.C. said, "And you know the rest."

"So my father truly had such a hard childhood..." Lelouch sighed, running a hand through his hair while the other replaced his contacts once again. "Regardless, he is beyond salvation. Even if I were to believe he knew such emotions as love and compassion, he no longer does. For the sake of the world, for the sake of my mother's justice, I cannot relent. I will see him dead by my own hand."

"Sir," a voice sounded from the other side of the ornate wooden door that sealed off Lelouch's quarters, "you have visitors."

"Visitors?"

"Knights Gilbert Guilford and Andreas Darlton, from the Viceroy's Palace."

Lelouch and C.C. shared a look, but before Lelouch could voice his curiosity about the matter the door opened, revealing his half-sister's knight and her close aide, both in full military uniform and saluting as though he were the Princess herself. In addition they were both wearing thin visors that kept their eyes from his view, confirming his suspicion that Cornelia's knowledge of his Geass had not been kept in strict confidence. Lelouch waved a hand to dismiss their formality, gesturing toward two chairs on either side of the doorway while the door was closed by a man dressed in full Black Knights regalia behind them. "Surely my sister has more trust in me than to send her men protected as you are?" Lelouch snarked petulantly, looking them each over in turn.

"Necessary precautions," Darlton replied calmly, taking the offered seat. His broad shoulders made the seat seem absolutely tiny, barely capable of holding his large body. Comparatively, Gilford fit into his seat much like Lelouch fit into his throne. "But we have not come on Her Highness' orders."

"Oh?" Lelouch pressed, returning to his seat and crossing one leg over the other, patiently awaiting due explanation while he turned in his seat to properly face the two Knights.

"We will get right to the point," Darlton snapped, taking a second to glare in C.C.'s direction – though he knew not who she was, Lelouch suspected Darlton was wary of a woman dressed in nothing but a shirt that clearly belonged to Lelouch laying on his bed, watching them like a panther would it's prey. "Her Highness is being accused of collaborating with you to restore Area 11 – what is left of it, that is – to the Eleven... Japanese. His Majesty has taken her captive."

"And you want me to mobilize my forces and head for the capital?"

"No," Gilford said, a bit hurriedly. The thought of such treason clearly bothered him more than he let on. "We believe His Majesty is doing it to draw you out, to get you to meet with him on his terms. Already he has left the Great Britannia under the command of the Knight of Nine and the Knight of One, and is en route to an island near the Tokyo Settlement."

"Kaminejima," Lelouch corrected.

"We know not what the place is," Darlton went on. "But if Her Highness is in danger, it is our duty as her Knights to prioritize her safety."

Lelouch paused to consider that for a moment. His father wanting to meet with him meant he had an opportunity to end things. Surely he was more after C.C. than he was after his own son, but that didn't matter. And if he could save Cornelia... It would be the catalyst necessary to turn their recent ceasefire into an alliance. And if they could make the Tokyo Settlement the capital of the United States, the effect it would have on morale would be tremendous. Not to mention it would give them the opportunity to properly secure their position and prepare for the next phase...

"You will come with me, then," Lelouch said as he stood, walking toward the walk-in closet on the far side of the room. Within, he pulled out his mask and his cape, putting both on in turn. "If I can create a miracle, will you trust me enough to convince my sister to ally with me?"

"Ally with you?"

"Surely you now see it," Lelouch drawled, throwing a hand into the air. The sound of his voice came out deeper through his mask, filling him with the joyous sensation of power that Zero granted him. "My father is no longer fit to be Emperor. Like myself, he has a mysterious power, as you know. He also intends to use it improperly, and it is my duty to stop him. Tell my sister to side with me, and you may do as you wish when we have purified your nation."

o---o

The last time he had been here, but three days ago, he had learned that his father was a depraved madman bent on some self-satisfying ideal that could very well have been taken from stories, for how surreal it was. And now here he was, under the guise of the man whom had started everything, going back to the very place the man beneath the mask started. Charles Di Britannia, after nearly a decade of waiting, would answer for the loss of Marianne Vi Britannia. Lelouch would know the truth and, depending upon what that truth may be, would make his father answer for it. He was due for at least that much, regardless of his crimes to everyone else he had wronged in his long reign.

The walk from where Darlton had landed their transport plane to the Thought Elevator itself was long, through a dense forest that seemed to go on without end. Lelouch, despite being against even the slightest exertion that wasn't necessary, found the walk to relieve him greatly. He needed time to think, of course, of what to say to his father and how best to go about outsmarting him. Surely Charles had accounted for the possibility of C.C. not coming with him, and may have even predicted it. Which meant that he must have something else in mind, presuming C.C. was even what he was after, that Lelouch would both need to predict and overcome. But what could it be? The trick of triggering an instance like what had happened in the Geass Directorate wouldn't work without C.C. nearby, meaning that even if there were such traps they were worthless. But then, what else could he have planned? Unless he thought having his own daughter as a hostage was enough?

Beneath the seldom used mask of Zero the air was humid, making the already very tight clothing cling all the more tightly to his sweat-covered skin, giving a feeling akin to the feeling of wet swimming trunks clinging to his legs. His raven dark hair clung to his face just as tightly, shining off of his mask and back into his eyes from the sweat drenching them. Like any forest, it seemed Kaminejima's forest simply would not allow for casual weather, leaving him feeling like the proverbial ant under the magnifying glass. To add to his annoyance, Darlton and Guilford seemed perfectly content in such weather. How they did was beyond Lelouch, though it could very well have been from all the hours spent in the cockpit of a KMF under his dear half-sister's command. Damn soldiers.

"What could be in such a place as this?" Guilford asked, looking at Lelouch – Zero, as they presently saw him – from the corner of his eye. "Surely nothing of any value is here."

"To him, what is here is of the greatest value," Lelouch replied cryptically. "The Geass Directorate's remains and the Kaminejima Thought Elevator... the center of all the remains of Geass' existence."

"Thought Elevator?" Darlton asked skeptically. "Sounds farfetched."

"I am not sure what it is," Lelouch admitted. "But it has ties to the Geass in some way or another, and you will see that it has been here for a very long time. Much longer than even we could guess."

"So it is something no man should be involved with..." Darlton sighed, grasping Lelouch's shoulder in his large hand. "You and His Majesty are truly demons, embracing such a thing."

"I don't care what others think of me," said Lelouch tensely, shrugging off the hand with a nudge of his shoulder. "If I do good in my lifetime, I will let future people – and even those of today – regard me as a demon."

Guilford chuckled wryly, stepping over an errant root and pushing a branch from his face as he went. "Her Highness would respect your convictions."

"And you don't?"

"I could never faithfully serve a demon."

Lelouch chuckled under his breath, letting the lingering sound of the boldened tone his mask granted it settle in their ears, pleasant and chilling at once. "My dear sister is a demon ten times over on the battlefield."

"On the battlefield, such behaviour is a boon," Darlton stated gruffly, eyes narrowing around the scar running across his face. "In a leader, such a thing is a symbol of tyranny."

"Tyranny is an evil I intend to remove."

"With more tyranny," Darlton quickly interrupted. "No good will ever come of using such methods to expel evil. Evil expelling evil shall leave evil in it's wake."

Lelouch let that comment linger, primarily due to the fact that he was, though he would never admit it, struck silent. It wasn't as though he was unfamiliar with the ways of the world and it's affinity for succumbing to evil, but he'd come to terms with that. While he did pride himself on the lingering remnants of the compassion he had allowed to dictate his actions, he also knew he would have to embrace the evil he was being corrupted by if he dared hope to create a lasting peace. And with his evil he would expel all other evil, and when all was said and done the world would see peace. No longer would religion, social barriers or race separate humanity. Humanity would be as one, and they would step toward tomorrow together.

Wouldn't they? Surely he wasn't being presumptuous in assuming this would occur, was he? No, that was simply impossible. If the peaks of society embraced such a reality, surely those beneath would follow suit. Never again would there be a need to hate, to loathe... Though surely not everybody would love their neighbors, it was not presumptuous to believe that enough people would to make a lasting change. Right?

For the first time, Lelouch felt unsure of the future. Would a future created by the Geass be truly ideal? Or would society crumble because the future they embrace was forced upon them by a power so terrible it could have forcefully steered them in such a direction from the beginning had it truly wanted to? A world that could as easily be a peaceful one of embracing one another as it could be a world of slavery, where everyone conformed to the will of the Geass. But how was that any different than what Charles and V.V. had wanted, both in the past and now? A world ruled by the Geass was not ideal, no matter what. No, a world made by the honest wills of those it encompasses was the ideal world tomorrow surely desired.

"There it is," Lelouch said evasively, pointing toward the narrow crack in the distant mountainside that had previously been identified as the entranceway to the Thought Elevator. Waitint there would be Charles and V.V., and the most important confrontation of Lelouch's revolution. The enemy of his tomorrow would finally be seen face to face, and finally would he be able to truly embrace that tomorrow. Too long had he been held back by the chains of his past, the need to justify his mother's death and avenge her plaguing him like a bothersome disease that refused to relent until it was satisfied. But that would now change. His mother would finally be able to rest in peace and he would be able to step toward tomorrow, moving without regret toward the blood-stained future that awaited him. There were bullets yet to be fired that weren't in the name of Marianne Vi Britannia, after all.

"Such a place..." Darlton sighed, stepping in front of Lelouch and sidestepping his way through the tiny opening. "I can see why so few know of it."

"Just as few know of this island," Lelouch remarked as he followed him, casually walking without fear of his shoulders, not nearly as broad as Darlton's, being battered by the rock on either side of him. "You would never find it if you weren't looking for it."

"So I see," he quipped in return, stepping out into the wide chamber beyond the small crack from which they had come. It looked, in Lelouch's opinion, similar to a shrine of sorts, with torches lining either side and the Geass symbol on the large door across from them shining a brilliant red. And in front of it stood Charles, staring them down intently while Cornelia lay at his feet, bound at the hands and feet and looking uncharacteristically helpless. It sickened Lelouch in a way, to see her in such a manner as that. Beside him was V.V., completely casual and at ease beside his younger yet much larger brother.

"Her Highness!" Guilford gasped, moving forward until Lelouch's arm caught his wrist. He turned his head and, though it was clearly reluctant, he nodded and stepped back.

"You would meet me with your lies?" Charles demanded, directing with a flick of the wrist to Lelouch's mask. "Are you still too weak to meet me as my son?"

"That has nothing to do with it," Lelouch drawled, running a gloved finger down the length of the tulip-shaped mask. "I am meeting you as the creator of miracles, the symbol of hope for the people who would deny you."

Chales laughed harshly, moving toward Lelouch with measured paces, the heavy falls of his feet resounding loudly against the stone ground. "That too is a lie, is it not? Beneath that mask lies a child, believing in such fairytales as miracles. The Geass is no such miracle!"

"I have more than the Geass!" Lelouch cried, tearing the mask from his head and tossing it aside, the other hand tracing over the contacts in his eyes, itching ever so slightly with the growing want to throw them away and bind his father to the Geass' power. "The will of the people, the desires of those around me... I do not rely on deceit and lies! Zero has created miracles by making the will of humanity reality!"

"Zero has created a web of lies, a mask of a demon!"

"No! Lelouch Lamperouge is a demon, a man willing to turn the world asunder to better it. Even when he dies, Zero shall remain to guide the hopeful, those who would desire change." Lelouch closed the remaining distance between himself and Charles, staring up at him with as much rage as he could muster, all of which paled in comparison to the naturally condescending and withering look he received from his father. "You are a liar, watching from above as those below you weave your deceitful webs, living the lives you have created for them! Britannia has no future; only a still-standing existence you have given it!"

"He is right," V.V. added, frowning as Charles looked back to glower at him. "You no longer care about a tomorrow we desired, brother. You have continued to lie, doing what suits only yourself and what you desire. No longer is it 'our' plan."

"This world is beyond salvation, brother," Charles replied scoldingly. "The only way to save it from it's own future is to reform it."

"A future built upon lies is not better!" Lelouch cried. "A world built upon such things is a world that satisfies only you! What about those you leave behind?! And mother?!"

Charles turned to glare at Lelouch, who in turn took a few steps back to properly match his father's glare. "Change always requires sacrifice. And so, I sacrificed what was unnecessary in the vision of the future. What tomorrow would not accept."

Something about the way he said it; the condescending undertone, the heartless words he spoke, the defiant way he spoke of such harshness... it made Lelouch snap. He threw aside his contacts with a flourish, and before his father could respond he said in a deathly serious tone, "Answer my questions."

Charles gritted his teeth in rage and looked ready to pounce on and kill Lelouch at any moment, but seconds later he suddenly relaxed, eyes falling to a half-close. "Of course."

"Did you kill mother?" Lelouch asked, maintaining the deathly tone his voice had acquired.

"I did."

Lelouch growled under his breath, mustering the will necessary to restrain himself from killing his father on the spot. It took more effort than he'd ever needed to keep his emotions in check, however. "Why did you kill mother?"

Charles' face remained blank, binded by the spell Geass put him under. Even blank as it was, Charles' lips curved in a depraved manner that struck Lelouch with a cold chill that he skillfully ignored. "She disagreed with the ideals of brother and I. She became weak."

"I see now..." Lelouch muttered, smiling slightly to himself at the revelation. "... So it really doesn't matter, does it?" He blinked finally, letting his watering eyes rest as Charles returned to his normal state of awareness. As soon as Charles became aware of things, he locked eyes with Lelouch, seeming to understand what had happened simply by their hateful exchange.

"Geass, hmm? You would go so far?"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes, revelling in the feel of his eyes not being hidden by the irritable contacts that hid his terrible power from those around him. "You are not above being judged by the Geass. Your world of lies, your sins, you are deserving more than all to tell the truth."

"You... fool!" Charles shouted, reaching for the handgun at his side. Lelouch remained unresponsive as the gun was pointed toward his face, staring down the barrel without so much as a flinch. Though to say he wasn't surprised would have been a lie of it's own, as he truly hadn't anticipated his father being so quick to succumb to his anger. Holding rein over his emotions apparently was not a trait he had inherited from the Emperor.

"That is enough, Charles," V.V. muttered reprimandingly, stepping between Lelouch and the gun, his long hair flowing behind him like a flourishing cape. "We have been too idealistic. The old plan was far better."

"You, brother..." Charles growled, watching in shellshocked rage as V.V. placed his hand over the barrel of the gun, inviting him to shoot. "I will not hold back for the sake of the plan, brother. That was our promise."

"Then fire."

Charles scoffed and threw his head back, though he didn't move the gun from it's place. "So Lelouch really..."

"Lelouch has nothing to do with this!" V.V. interrupted. "He is like you, brother. Too much so. But he is not so narrow-minded as to sacrifice the world for self-satisfaction."

All but steaming with fury, Charles pulled the trigger. The muffled sound of the gunshot rang through the air as slowly, deliberately, blood began to fall from the barrel and from V.V.'s hand. V.V. smirked as though there were nothing there, turning to Lelouch and nodding his head in invitation. "It is time I finished my job."

"Your job?" Lelouch echoed, stepping forward and staring at the gaping wound on the boy's palm.

"I have not aged since Charles and I were children. I have lived half of my life away as a child a sixth my own age. It is time I give that curse to another." And with that, his hand shot forward and grasped Lelouch's. As he remembered happening to him when C.C. first touched him, Lelouch was propelled into an astral plane within his own mind, where time and all other existences merged into an unfathomable existence not befitting of something as worldly as words. V.V.'s voice echoed in his mind, clear and above all else, "This is not a contract."

"This is an offering?" Lelouch asked, no longer surprised by hearing his own voice in his head.

"An offering," V.V. agreed. "You have power now, and you have dreams. I will do the only thing I can do, and give you the strength to use that power. Time will no longer matter – not only will you live in a different time, you will live in a world where time stands still. For you, there will be no end. You will be a sin to humanity, and that sin will be your curse. Will you accept this offering, knowing I will die the moment you accept? Knowing that, the moment you accept, you will bear the curse we have suffered since the beginning of time?"

"You were my greatest enemy's ally. You knew of my mother's death, and you lied because it suited you. You have sinned too, and you will atone. I will accept this offering, and with it free you and curse you. Give me your Code, and in doing so begin your atonement through death."

As soon as he finished, Lelouch's head felt light as images passed through it. Some familiar from when he had been struck mentally at the Geass Directorate, some unfamiliar such as seeing many people bearing the symbol of the Geass on their foreheads, moving throughout a medieval-like city that could have been from the Roman era. Commonplace were people with Geass flaring in their eyes, people with Geass markings on one part of their body or another. It was a society of only those with the Geass or the Code, people who transcended the society of today. There was no fighting, no hatred, no disagreements... Lelouch could see at once why his father would have wanted the return of such a world.

The next scene he saw in his mind's eyes froze him solid. On the stairs where his mother had died, with Nunnally beneath her and on the brink of insanity, stood his mother and C.C., calmly talking in the middle of the night. "He will make his move tonight," Marianne said quietly, gesturing toward the doorway where, Lelouch noticed this only then, no guards were standing. "He will kill me tonight. Will you continue?"

"We are cursed," C.C. replied cryptically, shrugging her shoulders. "To save our people from the curse of loneliness that binds us, I will use whoever I have to. Even your son, if it comes to it. He would be a good choice to finally end our loneliness, would he not?"

"Charles has plans for Lelouch," Marianne replied just as cryptically. "He wants to mold Lelouch into the perfect heir, knowing that Lelouch will not let the world remain as it is. Someday, by Charles' will or our's, Lelouch will kill him. Make sure it is by our will."

"So long as he is my tool in saving our people, I will do so," C.C. said, and then turned and walked away. The memory-esque scene ended there, returning Lelouch to his consciousness as V.V. released his hand and collapsed to the ground. Despite all the emotions running through him, Lelouch could feel his eyes tingling irritably as the Geass faded from existence within him, replaced with an inexplicably power in the very depths of his soul. It did nothing to ease the hurt and the pain he felt then, but he felt as though he could take his father down right there. He probably could, indeed, but something within him told him he wouldn't.

"He gave it up, huh..." Charles muttered, looking down at his brother's body, curled up at his feet with blood still pouring from his hand. "This makes things easier for me, though." He looked at Lelouch, as though judging his worth with his eyes. "Come here with C.C., and bear witness to the future."

"And if I don't?" Lelouch challenged, wondering why he felt compelled to consider such a request.

"You cannot defeat a plan that has not been layed, right?" Charles said mockingly. "You will never defeat me unless you face me on my terms."

o---o

The moment they got Cornelia into the transport plane and took off back toward the Tokyo Settlement, only one thought registered itself in Lelouch's mind... C.C.. Her betrayal of his trust, using him as a tool for her ideals, giving him much needed comfort to smokescreen her true desires all left him feeling so sick he could hardly imagine his skin maintained it's pale complexion. She would be waiting for him to return, not because she cared but because she wanted him to think she cared, even if she played their little game of pretending not to care that, now that Lelouch saw their partnership for what it was, wasn't a game to her at all.

Worse yet, her charade was so well played that he had not seen it coming. Betrayal would be easily seen were he in the right state of mind, and yet her betrayal of his trust and his care had been so unpredicted that he was still reeling from the revelation. She, who had given him the power that had started everything and saved his life countless times over, was a traitor. She was supposed to be his ally, the only one that would still stand by him when all was said and done and the mutual benefit that kept everybody else by his side had worn off. When the world no longer grasped the tips of his fingers or the heels of his shoes, she would still stand by him as an impervious shield. That was how it was meant to be.

"Dammit," Lelouch growled as he walked, Darlton and Guilford behind him as they strode through the halls of the Viceroy's Palace, the former of the two carrying the still unconscious Cornelia on his back. Without a word to the two he turned around, ignoring their remarks behind his back - "Where are you going?" and "Do not disrespect Her Highness so!", respectively – and tearing off down another hallway. Doors of elaborate design lined both sides, but one that waited for him stood out in particular. As he walked he whipped out his cell phone, finding Rolo's name in his contacts and quickly asking, "Are you ready?" as soon as he heard Rolo answer the phone. The entire exchange took less than ten seconds, from taking out the phone to shutting it and returning it to his pocket. And as soon as he did, he brought his feet to a halt in front of a door distanced from all the rest, but otherwise no different in design.

The door flew open before his hand reached the knob, and C.C. stepped aside to let him in with as much indifference as she typically displayed. "You're tired, right?" she asked by way of explanation... An act, to deceive him into thinking she cared and was simply reluctant to show it. The witch wouldn't be getting to him with her false, hidden niceties though, to be sure.

"I'm fine," Lelouch replied gruffly, pushing past her and toward the bed, removing and tossing aside Zero's mask as he went. "We got Cornelia."

"And Charles?"

"He got away." Lelouch crawled to the head of his bed, turning around and seating himself, crossing one leg over the other and reclining against the broad headboard of his large bed. "By the way, C.C.," he said, digging into his pocket while keeping his eyes closed. C.C., who had not yet seen his eyes, was surely raising an eyebrow and tapping her foot impatiently, though she cared too much of her plan to openly rebuke him for his dramatic act. "Here," he sighed, opening his eyes and tossing his contacts at her."

"Ah?" C.C. gasped softly as they bounced off of her chest and tumbled silently to the ground. She raised her eyes from the floor to meet Lelouch's, and he took great pleasure in watching her indifference falter under the revelation that there was no longer Geass flaring in the depths of his eyes. "You..."

"You always wanted to put an end to our curse, C.C.," Lelouch laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. "And with this, the curse will be broken. Geass will fade into nonexistance, and we will be it's sole survivors. We will bear the curse alone, in the stead of all others. It is fitting of us, who have wronged and cheated so many, isn't it?"

Lelouch smirked when C.C. remained silent, averting her eyes whenever his eyes sought them. "By the way, was mother your ally?" C.C.'s eyes shot up to meet his the moment he said that, a mixture of worry and fear – the latter Lelouch could hardly believe he was seeing in the blank-faced witch – running through them. "She knew about the assassination before it happened, right? And yet, she made no attempt to save Nunnally and I. Was she, like you, a self-satisfying traitor? Or did you corrupt her too, trying to use her to fulfill your selfish desires?

"I thought you were an ally, truly," Lelouch continued without pause. "When this was over, you would still be the witch by my side, and I would be the warlock keeping you from your loneliness. You would have escaped your curse. But that didn't satisfy you, did it? For you who, like Charles, cared for nothing but your plan, I was nothing but an accessory, wasn't I?"

"You were, at first," C.C. admitted with great reluctance. "But in this timeless world, you were all I could count on. Before I had been able to stop it, I needed you as much as you needed me. You were not so much an accessory as a comrade."

"Lies create a vicious web, don't they?" Lelouch snarked haughtily, immensely enjoying watching her grow even more uncomfortable under the weight of his words. "They are the perfect escape from reality, weaving falsehoods and truths into an unrecognizable mess of existences. There is no better way to escape that which you do not want to face. But should your lies be revealed, they are the most deadly weapon one could possibly wield against you.

"No matter, though," Lelouch sighed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "V.V. has offered me his Code and entrusted me with his burdens, and with that responsibility we no longer have a contract. The bind between us that kept you by my side is gone, so I am sure you will want to find somebody else to carry out your self-fulfilling aims."

"No," C.C. protested, her voice quiet and almost fearful. Were Lelouch in a more reasonable state of mind he would have pointed out that he'd longed to break through the outer shell of C.C.'s stubborn nature and reach out to the woman beneath and that he now had such a chance, but the only thing on his mind was the desire to satisfy the hurt and the betrayal nagging at him from within. "I..."

"Sorry," Lelouch cut her off, smiling crookedly, "I wasn't giving you an option."

"What?"

The door swung open and Rolo filed in with two soldiers of the Geass Corps – recognizable by the Geass symbol covering the chest of their Black Knights uniforms and the dark visers that covered their eyes from view. All three held a rifle in hand and has a sword sheathed at their right hip, a personal touch granted by Lelouch himself in order to give them the truly superior impression they deserved. Rolo's eyes went from Lelouch and then to C.C., taking in each in turn. "Is it time?"

"Take her away," Lelouch sighed dismissively, opening one eye to glance at Rolo. "Don't hurt her, though. I do have some honor."

"I wasn't considering such a thing," Rolo replied defensively, sounding slightly offended. But then he turned to Lelouch and flashed him a smirk so nefarious that the thought crossed Lelouch's mind that Rolo could truly pass for his brother. "Traitor or not, Lady C.C. was once one of us, right?"

o---o

_Friendship... loyalty... compassion. I understood finally why my father discarded such worldly things. They were too fickle, full of negative emotion and ill intent, such to the point that you could not tell where the line between genuinity and falsehoods stood, could not tell if the ones you trusted most could truly be trusted at all. C.C. had crossed this line, taking with her my trust in that line altogether. Friendship from now on would be a weakness, something I could not afford to let dictate my actions. Suzaku, Karen, Jeremiah... they were my comrades, my allies and my soldiers. Calling them friends would be inviting betrayal, and betrayal was one thing I would not stand for._

_The loss of the Geass and Cornelia's surrender to the United States cemented a change in my life. Finally the time had come for the next phase to begin, where the fight would finally be taken to Britannia. For far too long had the world outside of it's borders seen bloodshed, soldiers trampling over or stealing crops, and cities burned to the ground out of petty ambition. Finally Britannia would see it's atrocities returned upon itself as the Anti-Britannian Front finally committed itself to it's unified goal of crushing Britannia under it's foot. With the power of Africa's states and the Empire of China, as well as Japan's army in the Order of the Black Knights, the unified Anti-Britannian Front had finally gathered the strength necessary to bring the Emperor of Britannia to kneel, to see the entirety of it's fearsome military forces crushed by superior men. The days of Britannia ruling over the world's every move had ended._

_Yes... Finally, after eight long years of suffering and hiding, Britannia would answer for what it did to it's Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally. The children of it's Emperor, tossed aside for reasons I finally understood, would finally have their opportunity to get revenge. ... Nunnally, though, would never think of revenge. No, this was for me – for those who had similarly been wronged by Britannia. Nunnally would be given a better world in the end, but she would not wish for it to be done in such a way. Hopefully Nunnally will truly be able to forgive me someday, to be able to look at me and see somebody other than the demon she and so many others see in me. In Nunnally's future... I wonder if I have a place in it. When all is said and done, where will I stand in the world? Will I guide it to it's future? Will I watch from a distance as somebody else does? Or will I, like C.C. before me, come to scorn life and all things associated with it because I am unable to escape it?_

o---o

"... A contract?"

Cornelia looked up from her place in bed, pillows strewn all around her and behind her while she rested, as Lelouch strode across the room in measured paces, turning off the T.V. as he passed it. The marble flooring of her room resounded loudly against the solid falls of his feet, one after the other in a perfect rhythm that Lelouch let dance through his ears several times before turning his full attention to Cornelia again, watching her watch his Geass-less eyes with a mixture a fascination and wariness. Ever the proud, careful warrior, he thought, even as she lay helplessly in bed with a broken leg and two sprained arms. Cornelia Li Britannia was definitely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, anything but weak.

"Of sorts," Lelouch replied cryptically, settling down on the end of her large bed and running his hand along it's length idly. "You have already made your entrance into the United States official through the other member states, right?"

"Yes, but I did not do so for your sake," Cornelia shot back defensively. "Father has to answer for what he has done, and Schneizel corrupts every bit of land he steps on in his bid to stop you two. Given that, you were the only one I could turn to with my honor intact."

"Of course, of course. 'I am a demon and I will innevitably corrupt this world as I have everything else around me,' right?" Lelouch drawled, looking toward the intricately patterned ceiling – many coiled circles overlapping and merging in an indecipherable mess of swirls. The crimson red of the ceiling gave the design an additionally intricate feel to it, like hellfire swirling and moving about in an elegant dance that only it understood. "Regardless, I will need the support of your Knights to attack the Britannia proper."

"The Britannian navy is far too strong!" Cornelia cried exasperatedly, looking at Lelouch with a look that said, 'Are you mad?" about as bluntly as it could reasonably be said. "How do you intend to break through the navy with your forces and still have enough power to reach the capital?"

"You are experienced in naval combat, right?" Lelouch asked devilishly.

Cornelia nodded absently, wondering exactly what this entailed to the inner workings of Lelouch's mind. "Not as much so as I am at commanding battles on land, but I am not inexperienced. Why?"

"In that case," Lelouch said, an increasingly devious smirk working it's way onto his face, "you will be appointed the Anti-Britannian Front's Admiral. Meanwhile, I will be leading our main forces with the Hogosha in a sneak attack on Pendragon. We will seize the capital while you draw their attention by attacking the naval base at California."

"And what does this have to do with a... contract?" she asked warily.

"You have no reason to be loyal to the United States," Lelouch shrugged, "and I no longer have any intention of trusting people without just reason. And so, a contract is in order. In exchange for your promise of fealty to myself and to the United States, you will be given the authority to reform Britannia as you see fit once it has been made one of our states. You will essentially be father's heir."

"I have never been interested in taking the throne for myself," Cornelia countered casually.

"Britannia has been corrupted, to the point where neither Schneizel nor I could save it. Britannia needs a more moderate ruler, like you or Odysseus, to save it from itself now." Lelouch stood, walking around the room while he ran his fingers along his eyes. "These eyes... these eyes held a power that corrupted me the moment I accepted it. Even without the Geass, these eyes are cursed. I cannot save Britannia now, and all of Britannia will suffer if you do not accept. Will you?"

Cornelia nodded immediately, shooting Lelouch an offended glance for even suggesting otherwise. "As a soldier through and through, I would sooner die than betray Britannia. Unlike Suzaku and Jeremiah, who's loyalties were shaken by their bond with you, I am not so easily displaced."

Lelouch nodded, "And you are all the more a soldier for that conviction."

"Be that as it may," Cornelia continued, "I know better than to die foolishly for a decaying country I am loyal to. If I must betray Britannia for now in order to save it later, I will do so resentfully."

Flashing his half-sister a winning smile and a deceitful wink, Lelouch sat in the tall, well furnished chair that occupied the head of the round table that occupied the open area of the room across from Cornelia's bed. One leg crossed over the other and he folded his hands while resting his elbows on the table, placing his chin in the fold and turning his head to look at Cornelia from the corner of his eye. "I have already taken the liberty of making your Knights Darlton and Guilford Rear Admiral and Vice-Admiral respectively. Both are under your direct command, though I presently have them running drill exercises with your troops as well as the ones I have placed under your command.

"Also, I will have to ask that you take the matter of acquiring a fleet into your own hands," Lelouch continued, breaking his left index finger free of the fold to tap against his cheek. "While it is a bothersome duty, the member states are reluctant to grant me the funds necessary to build a navy capable of contending with Britannia's. That being said, what funds they have granted me are being put to replenishing our supply of KMFs and other supplies. Unfortunately, the new Akatsuki Frames are far more costly than the outdated Burai were, and getting them in large quantities is expensive."

Cornelia frowned as she stood, joining Lelouch by sitting at the identical chair situated at the other end of the table. She plucked a phone off the nearby wall and pressed a button, saying, "Tea," into it before hanging it up again and turning to Lelouch. "I have no problems doing so, but isn't one of your duties making sure the army is properly supplied?"

"It is also my duty to properly know my men and delegate orders accordingly," Lelouch snarked, smirking at Cornelia's scowl. "Though I dislike admitting it, I am far less knowledgable of naval warfare than you. Between the two of us, you are far more suited than I for acquiring armaments for a navy."

"Well," Cornelia sighed, pulling over a pad of paper and a pen from the corner of the table, scribbling some notes probably only she understood. "Britannia's navy focuses on overwhelming strength, as all of it's military does, and as such it's defense lies primarily in the strength of the base's defense itself. Our ships by comparison will need far more defensive strength, with still enough firepower to take out the base should it be necessary." Again she scribbled down notes as she spoke, adding several diagrams – or at least they appeared to be so to Lelouch – to the mix. "Although, if at all possible outfitting the ships with VTOL units would be preferable, thus allowing KMFs to assail the base by land."

Lelouch nodded absently, flinging the thought around in his head while trying to figure out how exactly that would work. Unfortunately, limited – nearly none whatsoever – knowledge of naval warfare and naval weaponry in general made understanding the depth of what Cornelia was saying a rather difficult matter for him. "The base is very heavily defended, even if you successfully get the army on land. The defenses at the port alone are strong, and beyond that are many fortifications that will make a siege difficult."

"That is what the VTOL units are for," Cornelia replied petulantly. She paused while the door opened, gesturing with a wave of her hand for the tea to be placed on the table. Once the small white cups had been placed before herself and Lelouch and the servant had politely bowed and retreated, she sipped elegantly at it while watching Lelouch's face critically. He too sipped from the tea placed in front of him, albeit in a far more reserved and careful manner, as though it were spiked with a lethal poison waiting to kill him. His obvious lack of trust intrigued Cornelia, who immediately made the connection between him and their father's similar lack of trust, though she did not bother to comment on it. Much like she hadn't yet commented upon the lack of any Geass in his eyes, even though his eyes held the distant warmth that meant they were not covered by contacts.

Lelouch understood what she had been thinking about immediately, and gestured to his eyes with one hand while the other lightly grasped the handle of his teacup and brought it to his lips, draining it of a respectful amount of tea before placing it down on the small plate with which it had come. "Uncle Vortigem is dead," he chuckled, running his finger along his eyes and showing the tips to Cornelia, showing that no contacts had been removed. "Though he was my enemy, I took pity on him for living his life as a child."

"What do you mean?" Cornelia asked, scowling. "And how do you know about Uncle Vortigem? He left Britannia long before you or I were born."

Lelouch chuckled again, throwing his head back to rest against the back of the chair. "Clearly you know our dear uncle," he pointed out, "and he, like our dear father, was cursed by their lust for power."

"The Geass?" Cornelia asked knowingly. "Is that why he left Britannia?"

Lelouch shook his head in reply, gesturing again to his Geass-less eyes, "The origin of Geass – the Code. I will spare the details, but it is how father got Geass. Uncle Vortigem gave me his Code, and that killed him."

"The Code?" Cornelia asked disbelievingly. "Meaning?"

"Immortality."

"... Immortality," Cornelia repeated skeptically, nodding to herself as she sipped at her tea again. "And you can give other people the Geass as well, right?"

"Right," Lelouch agreed, watching with a raised eyebrow as Cornelia elegantly flipped her curled purple hair over shoulder and out of her face, revealing a tiny scar running from her jawline to the outer area of her cheekbone, near her ear. "Did father...?"

"His guards," Cornelia answered stiffly, moving so that her left elbow rested on the table and her head was cradled by it, casually hiding the scar. "Never have I felt so disgraced as then," she added angrily.

Lelouch smiled lightly, all the more willing to let talks of difficult things drop momentarily in favor of the sort of casual conversations they had shared in the past, before the times had grown tougher and the need for such difficult talks had arisen. "He has that affect on people," he said lightly, waving a finger from the side to side in a silent order for Cornelia to move her hand. She did so grudgingly, turning her face to better show him the scar. "Consider that a silent oath," he added, "to yourself. That mark will be a promise to yourself, to avenge the disgrace he has given you, right?"

"Hmm," Cornelia hummed, bringing her teacup again to her lips. She smiled tightly in gratification as the fluid passed through her lips, and she quickly hid it behind an indifferent expression as the teacup left her lips, making the entire gesture hidden from Lelouch. "How has Nunnally been doing?" she asked carefully, watching Lelouch's expression immediately sour.

"She returned to Ashford," Lelouch replied tightly, hanging his head sadly. "She understands my motives for fighting, but..." He sighed, running a hand down his face while he lifted it, letting his fingers linger to scratch his chin. "She was always satisfied living in hiding, just me and her. Things were simple, even if we were prisoners, and we were happy. She doesn't understand that I was never satisfied living like that, that I knew I could get revenge for all the times this world had wronged us. She wanted it to be just her and I, while I wanted to change this world and redeem our mother.

"I now know redeeming our mother is impossible," he continued, laughing softly to himself. "She was like everybody else. They used me until they were satisfied with what I had to offer, and then they betrayed me. They taught me that friendship and trust are sins, that I will only weaken myself if I allow myself to be subject to them. I will truly become a demon because of them, won't I?"

o---o

Tel Aviv's relatively poor populace, deprived already of many liberties granted to citizens of Britannia's Areas, still found the strength to throw rocks and other such objects at passing KMFs as the Schneizel's troops moved into the city. Several people had dashed in the way of Panzer-Hummels or Sutherlands, bravely staring down the Frames and daring them to run them over. Consequently, the occupation of Tel Aviv – a matter which had been settled without so much as a battle – still resulted in a casualty list nearing fifty, a number many times too large for an occupation of it's nature. Schneizel had not been pleased to know this, but he managed a brave face and cooly dismissed the listings as fools who stood in the way – literally – of his ideals. On the inside, though, he loathed that he had to succumb to such wicked means in order to gather the strength necessary to match his father and demonic half-brother. If only he could discover the source of their strength, so that he could match it without needing to be an enemy of all people...

Schneizel looked down at the desolate streets of Tel Aviv from above, much as a God would the people – the irony of that was not lost upon him, either, noting that where he stood was known as the God-given promised land to it's people. The streets were worn, pavement cracked and split at many places, torn as though it had just been a battleground. By all rights it had been, despite no actual battle having been fought there, and the cracks were so worn in that they had obviously been there for some time. It had not been all that long since Britannia had initially occupied the region and made it into the honorless Area 18, stripping even the Jewish of their rights and conforming them to the status of Numbers, depriving them of both social status and religious status, tearing them away from their God like a baby from it's mother. The cracks, worn as they were, had the distinct indents of wheels from KMF landspinners, revealing the past conflict between brave warriors who defended their God and Britannia's hordes, determined to whip even God's soldiers into submission like all others before them. And Schneizel had just honored these people with a repeat performance.

"I will make it up to you..." Schneizel muttered sadly, placing a hand to the window that separated him from the suffered streets below. "I will return to you your names, your God, your land... but I cannot yet."

As though they had heard his promise, a small family of four – a mother, a father and two children of less than ten – left their home, a pitiful thing one story in height and broken down in several places, shingles missing from the rooftop and a large axe-shaped split in their door. They looked from side to side carefully before advancing down the steps that led to their doorstep, careful to constantly scan from side to side every few steps. They made their way down the sidewalk, the children hiding behind the legs of their parents like lost puppies and the parents standing shoulder to shoulder, each occasionally leaning over to whisper something into the ear of the other. Their fear was palpable, and as he watched Schneizel found himself watching the road and the sidewalks, jumping everytime he saw somebody, just like they would.

As they turned the corner, both parents were pinned to the ground as three soldiers surrounded them, pressing guns to their heads and shouting something into their ears. Despite expecting this Schneizel winced, unable to remain detached as he watched the soldiers carry out orders he himself had given, strictly under the pretense of the cold dictator he had made himself out to be. Both parents had begun crying openly as a piece of paper was shoved into their faces, a documentation of the new laws placed on the war torn city by himself that had already been forcefully posted in every home. One rule it detailed included the necessity of home lockdown after midnight – it was nearing dawn already, and the moon was lowering steadily toward the horizon – and the family in question was now suffering for it, leaving Schneizel to watch in rapt fascination and absolute disgust as the mother and father were pulled toward the side of the road and shot point blank in the head, splattering one another with their blood as they fell. The children followed, heartlessly dragged aside and given the same fate, leaving their bodies to fall atop their parents'.

Schneizel quickly pulled shut the blinds with one hand, covering his mouth with the other as he turned away and resisted with all his might the urge to empty his stomach. But he would not allow himself to show weakness, even in his lonesome. No; he had made the decision to walk down this path, welcoming all the hatred the world had to offer until such a time that he acquired the power necessary to redeem himself, showing the world to a future brighter and more certain than one either his father or Lelouch could offer. That time would come before long, hopefully... If not, all would be lost, be it those he cared for – the people – or his sanity. If he lost either, he lost himself – that was the reality of his position, a fact he had embraced the moment he turned down this path.

The room was relatively well furnished, all things considered. The three story Pagoda house was just about the closest thing to luxury the dilapidated city still offered, with the elegance of an upper middle-class Britannian home comparable to the homes in the outer areas of the capital Pendragon. It had historical significance that shattered the hearts of the people the moment he took it as his personal residence. The room was made of marble in it's entirety, kept clean even in the people's darkest hour like a God that required their unconditional service. A small desk occupied the rooms eastern wall, with papers strewn across it detailing reports from their recent battles in both Tel Aviv and Haifa, as well as casualty and supply reports following both engagements. A king sized bed occupied the opposite wall, with a canopy covering it from corner to corner. Quotations from the bible - "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord his hope and confidence", "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path", and "I came that you may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance, until it overflows" stuck out among others - were engraved into the walls like prayers, over various depictions of God, Jesus and other religious icons. Never had Schneizel born witness to such a testament of faith as this, one unlike anything Britannia had to offer. In an entirely different and strange way, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Schneizel crossed over to the desk, sitting down in the tall, black leather chair that rested against the wall and behind the desk. He flipped the switch on the lamp at the edge of the desk as he began to flip through paper after paper, eyes scanning them in quick succession. Total casualties, over one thousand... MIA or captured, over three thousand... Not nearly as bad as it could have been, given how devastating the battle at Haifa had been following the arrival of his father. All the same, it was a blow he could ill afford at that point in time, when every last soldier counted in their do-or-die battle for their futures. Their claim to power rested on a successful campaign in Area 18! And they could hardly resort to drawing from the civilian population to replenish their soldiers, unless they were to cross a line that could never be recrossed and utilize forced conscription. No matter what, though, that could never be allowed. The people had suffered enough as it was, and forcing them to fight for somebody they hate more than even the oppressive law Britannia had placed upon them would be much too severe.

"... 'Status of Tel Aviv restoration slash purification: reconstruction of upper class homes and business offices, arrest of over three thousand civilians and execution of one thousand, seven hundred and sixty'," he read to himself, running his index finger along the paper as he read. True to detailed form, the sheet included many attached sheets with information of every civilian captured or executed. It was shocking to find a photo identification for every last civilian captured or executed, but Schneizel willed himself to remain calm while he continued to read over their personal records, family members, occupations... children. Many had left widowed husbands or wives in their wake, some even leaving orphaned children. Schneizel swiftly grabbed a pen and scribbled a note to authorize the construction of an orphanage to help the many now-orphans. He feared he would be consumed by insurmountable guilt if he did not, more so than he was already threatened to be.

"Your Highness?" one of his guard's asked timidly, opening the door slightly and poking his head in. A pair of thick black glasses covered his eyes, and his hair – a dark red, with blackened tips – fell around his face and over his forehead, and were he not wearing glasses they would surely be hiding them from view much as the glasses were. His face was smiling, teeth showing slightly through parted lips, contrasting the nervousness in his voice. "We found somebody trespassing on the Pagoda's grounds and have taken him into custody. What should we do with him?"

"I told you what to do with civilians who didn't follow our rules," Schneizel spat out coldly, quickly covering up any trace of emotion through the hard edge in his voice and the withering glare he directed at the soldier who, in response, shivered very noticeably.

"He doesn't look like a civilian, Your Highness," he replied meekly, quickly ducking away from the door as two other soldiers pushed through carrying a man with a bag over his head by the arms, stopping briefly to bow to Schneizel before dumping the prisoner on the bed. He was wearing a form fitting white lab coat with a small overcoat that covered his biceps and chest, with an equally tight fitting purple undershirt and brown leather gloves. The bag was pulled from his face, revealing a carefully combed mop of silver hair, with long bangs falling over his face. His eyes were closed, but as they slowly opened, Schneizel couldn't help but gape in surprise at the demonic look in them.

"... The voices..." he gasped, his voice sounding more like a laugh or a cackle than a plea for help. "Turn off... the voices..."

* * *

That's the end of this chapter. For those who wonder, I have never been to the Pagoda House and I claim no knowledge of it's interior, so if my description is insufficient to anybody who may have been there before, at least you know that I have a genuine lack of knowledge of it's appearance.

Also, take a vote if you don't mind. If you think it would be better, I will modify this chapter and last chapter into one massive chapter. If not, I will leave it as is. Your call.


	25. The New World

Silly reviewers, thinking I would leave the development between Lelouch and C.C. as it is… No, I would never do that, but their development comes to it's general climax soon, however. I said from the beginning that this would not be a particularly romantic story - there is more than I had initially anticipated there being because the highs and lows of my love for LelouchxC.C. forced me to throw in the occasional tidbit here and there, but as a general rule romance was a hinted thing with minimal focus at best.

That aside, thank you for the positive feedback for last chapter. I know I wouldn't have gotten it if I didn't deserve it, and I wouldn't have wanted it if I knew I didn't deserve it, but that's irrelevant. It was a real morale booster all the same, so thank you. Hopefully I continue my steady climb from the hell that was Chapter 23.

* * *

"You always wanted to put an end to our curse, C.C.," he had said, mirth in his voice even as he spoke words that certainly tore at him from the inside out, lining his soul with fresh wounds that bled, bled, until he had nothing left to give. "And with this, Geass will fade into non-existence, and we will be it's sole survivors."

Never before had C.C. truly been captivated by somebody's words. They were far too flimsy, full of carefully woven truths and lies that kept the world in it's endless cycle of repetition. Lelouch had been doing the same thing until now, following self-interest even if it was for a higher, nobler deed. He was just another in the world's cycle. And she was using him, though she had been unable to remain unattached emotionally, so that she could tear herself away from that cycle.

But Lelouch did it first. She hadn't thought it possible, but he of all people achieved a feat previously unachievable. He tore free of the world's repetition with a flourish, binding her to the very things she had only recently realized prevented her too from escaping in his wake. He would live forever, like her, and he was managing to do so happily. But perhaps that was a temporary thing? Perhaps he would come to realize eventually that the world was doomed to this repetition, and he would grow bored of it just as she had. And then he, like her, would turn it into his plaything... more so than he already had, of course.

Something told her that this would not be the case. Lelouch had known from the beginning that conflict born of hate and war born of spite were elements of a repeating, neverending world. His desire from the beginning had been to change that. And C.C. had never said so, but she mocked him greatly for it. What a farce, to believe that you could go so far as to change the natural order of the world. Such a thing was a fool's dream, nothing more.

She leaned forward, noting with relief that the cold, stone-tiled floor had long since warmed from her presence, and the bitter smell of something she couldn't quite make out had faded the moment her nose numbed itself to the smell. The prison bars in front of her, dyed red as though they were scaldingly hot, were parted just enough that she could fit two fingers through, but they had obviously been designed with the intent to prevent potential escapees from thinking the sort of scenario where they plucked the keys off the wall and escaped would be possible. C.C. didn't really care for such hopeful thinking anyway.

The warmth of the ground - her own warmth, really, but it was comforting nonetheless, - was the only thing keeping her from being engulfed by the cold chill that had once been the only feeling she knew. But because of Lelouch, despite being potentially unintentional, she had escaped that dreadful feeling. Her heart knew warmth, he face knew how it felt to smile and, above all else, she had managed to spend companionable time with the only partner she'd had that had managed to reach her on any sort of emotional level. Mao did as well, she supposed, though that was a matter of her providing him warmth, and any feeling she'd grasped for him was born of her pity towards him, for she kept him around long after she realized he was a failure as a partner.

As was the case with Lelouch, however, her dues to Mao had been paid. His inability to control his Geass was a miscalculation on her part in judging his worth as a potential contract, that much was true. But she - and Lelouch - had done away with him, even if sparing him from insanity hadn't been their primary motive at the time. Regardless of intent, she had done her job and she had covered her tracks in ensuring that she could go on peacefully. Finally, with her last effort at making something of her dreadful life having failed and her finest partner having abandoned and imprisoned her, she could die.

But Lelouch… How would Lelouch feel, were he to know that him rejecting her had sparked her resolve to die? He was a master of using his emotions in a deceitful manner - even if he wanted to reach out and beg her to return to his side, he could just as easily turn those emotions into spiteful ones and urge her to move further away from him. She supposed that was what made him so interesting; his greatest flaw was his inability to keep a proper rein on his emotions, and yet at the same time he could use those emotions as one of his most lethal weapons.

Thinking about it was pointless, she decided. No matter what Lelouch thought of her - and she often had a relatively good idea, for she was not unfamiliar with reading emotions - it no longer mattered. He had rejected her, she had made her mind, and further thinking would only bring bothersome things like emotions to the surface again. Damn Lelouch for doing that to her, to so perfectly shatter her utterly and open her scarred heart for all to see. No, this couldn't go on.

She reached deep into herself, locating the thick shell of her consciousness - also a direct link between herself and the Collective Unconsciousness. Yes… She would go to the World of C, where Charles was waiting for those with the Codes. She would offer her own to the Collective Unconsciousness, as per Charles' will, and die. Lelouch was securely holding the other Code and would not be so foolish as to use it to aid Charles, meaning she could safely do so and die without it having a truly adverse effect on anything. Unless Lelouch showed up, the meddlesome boy…

"But really, boy, that arrogance of your's…" C.C. reached into her hair, sifting through it until she pulled out a set of keys, carefully stolen from one of the guards who had escorted her to the cell. She walked over to the cell door, effortlessly slipping her slim hands through the wider bars and pressing the correct key into the lock. Her wrist cracked painfully as it was bent awkwardly, turning the key in place to unlock the door. The lock chimed and the ring of keys dropped, leaving the door to be effortlessly pushed open by the toe of one of her boots. "… That arrogance is something you should take care of."

o---o

"… Mao?"

"Correct!" Mao cheer-wailed, or somewhere between the two sounds, clapping like a child while he kicked his feet out along the length of Schneizel's bed. The soldiers whom had brought him in stood behind Schneizel, guns raised and pointed at Mao as they had been from the moment the bag had been lifted from his head. It was obvious to all three of them that he was foreign - most likely Chinese, given his vague resemblance to an Eleven while still looking entirely different - and common sense dictated they be wary against such a person, particularly when the Chinese as a whole worshipped Schneizel's half-brother.

"And just who are you?" Schneizel asked warily. One some conscious level he was aware of the fact that this man, clearly insane as he was, may very well respond with something along the lines of. "I told you, I'm Mao!" but decided to take the risk anyway. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained… right? Somehow, Schneizel suspected provoking an insane man with the most surreal looking eyes he had ever seen hardly constituted as following the age old 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' ideal.

Mao seemed to understand the question on at least the most basic level, lifting his head slightly to regard Schneizel critically for a long moment. And then he said, as though it were a casual observation everybody understood without question, "You look like him."

"Him?" Schneizel asked curiously. Odds are 'He' was somebody related to Schneizel, though that hardly narrowed it down. Of his father's children, of which there were so many that they alone could fill the entire ranks of the Royal Guard, at least half of them were male. That being said, such a list did not make matters easier. But on the other hand, there was a certain younger half-brother whom things had been simply drawn to of late, either by his will or by a higher power's. The chance was certainly there.

"Him!" Mao cried, jumping to his feet suddenly. Schneizel composed himself from the mild surprise just in time to stop his soldiers from shooting Mao where he stood, turning the floor beneath him an awful shade of red. "It has always been him, ever since he took C.C. from me! The voices I hear, the thoughts of everybody around me, is nothing compared to his laugh, taunting me as I sleep! His smirk, as he takes C.C. by the hand and leads her away, further and further until she is out of reach! I would welcome the voices if they could take away the pain of him! Damn that Lelouch!"

Schneizel exchanged a look with each of his soldiers, and each lowered their guns almost too readily - timid they may be, but Schneizel was glad to know they saw a good opportunity when it presented itself. "And does Lelouch have anything to do with those… eyes?" he asked slyly, careful he didn't offend Mao with his boldness. Thankfully, if there was any offense to be taken it was forgotten, all thoughts replaced with Lelouch and memories of however it was he had wronged Mao.

"The Geass?" Mao questioned incredulously; to him, the question was apparently one so stupid that it wasn't even deserving of a show of false respect. "C.C. and Lelouch, they have… they have turned the world upside down with the Geass. Reading minds, like I can, is one thing… But he…" Mao trailed off, clenching and unclenching his fists at regular intervals. "Absolute Obedience? Forcing people to do his bidding is beyond unnatural!"

Schneizel took a step back, throwing his arms out behind him to brace himself against his desk as he reeled in shock. Absolute Obedience? And being able to force anybody to do his bidding? So that was the sort of power Lelouch had? It could be assumed that their father too had a similarly devilish power. And Mao… he could read minds. That would be infinitely helpful if they could secure his loyalty. "This power… the Geass, you said…" Schneizel murmured, slowly regaining the ability to stand without support - it took a fair bit of effort, however. "What other powers do you know of?"

"Just his and mine," Mao replied quietly, running both hands through his hair and tugging - hard. He yelped almost inaudibly, but otherwise acted as though the painful action were perfectly normal. "C.C. told me that, besides her, there is another that can give the Geass. But I don't know who. The Emperor has it as well, but I don't know what it is, either."

"I see…" Schneizel acknowledged, nodding his head while he considered those words. It was perfectly fine that getting the Geass appeared to be impossible, as he would not allow himself to sink to such a level just to defeat his brother and father. No, remaining above their lows was necessary to be the ideal leader the world would need in the end. "And your Geass… reading minds… is it possible to control?"

Mao shook his head. "No," he replied honestly, looking very distressed at the revelation. "I can focus my powers on a single mind, but it hurts greatly and it makes my power less effective."

Schneizel smirked then, letting his eyes shamelessly drift over Mao's demonic ones - probably a manifestation of this Geass. "If I promise you that you will get your revenge against Lelouch…" he said invitingly, walking forward and offering a hand, "will you make that power you have… mine? The power to change this world, to better it, the power to be a… King?"

o---o

Lelouch couldn't help smirking at that moment. Now, this was not surprising - smirking was what he did, and he'd been told by more than one bold classmate at Ashford that he looked "Extremely good" doing it. But this was a special occasion, not an "I'm about to do something that will bring my plans to a new level, and thus I must smirk," sort of smirk. Well, that was true too, but that still wasn't the reason.

No, the reason was that he was waiting. Waiting for that soldier across from him, fidgeting with his hands in his pockets and the toe of his boot scraping back and forth along the paved ground, to come to him. Surely he was about to hear something he already knew - C.C. had escaped, and the Hakumei was missing - but he needed to play the act, make it seem like the necessity to abandon the army and run off to Kaminejima right before they set sail for the California base was something that could not be helped.

"C.C. will not be forgiven, will not be forgiven…" he almost sang, disgusted with himself for it immediately afterward. There was only one reason she would be going to Kaminejima, and he would not let her put his plans in such dire risk just for something as selfishly satisfying as death. No, traitor or not, she was his cellmate in their timeless prison, where all clocks were broken and time stood still. Stealing the Warden's ring of keys was a dirty blow for her, though he could understand the necessity to break through the bars that separated them from the flow of time. If only she would come to understand that being timeless was the greatest of boons! Never aging, never dying… so long as you make sure you have something to live for, immortality would be the greatest thing anybody could dare ask for. And they got it without even asking, having it forced upon them by those who had decided it was time to rejoin the flow of time.

Lelouch waved over one of the many soldiers carrying crates of supplies onto the Hogosha, who in response immediately handed the crate off to another and ran over, saluting as soon as he managed to bring his feet to a halt. "Your Highness?"

"Has the Gawain been placed on board yet?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the nervous soldier the entire time. He still had made no attempt to approach Lelouch, and it was starting to get on his nerves, just a little. What kind of soldiers did he have, who were too nervous to speak with their leader?

"Not yet, Your Highness," the soldier replied tensely, saluting again as soon as the words had left his mouth. "Shall we have Rakshata place it on board now?"

Lelouch shook his head, catching the eye of the other soldier and waving him over, smirking again as the soldier began shuffling his feet all the more nervously for it. "Run system checks on it and the Lancelot; I want both ready for immediate launch."

"Immediate?" the soldier echoed, taking a step back to properly look over at the others, still packing crate after crate, some using forklifts to achieve the same result if the crate was too large, up the gangway. He frowned. "Is that possible? System checks would have to be run on the Hogosha, and…"

"We will launch them from the G-1 Base," Lelouch answered with an off-key lift to his voice, a little more upbeat than he had intended. "There is a matter the Black Knight and I need to investigate."

The soldier fidgeted nervously with the color of his uniform, making the chest of it stick out more - revealing a badge that said Private Yagami - in the process. "What about the chain of command? You're needed when we leave!"

Lelouch tossed rebellious strands of his hair behind his ear, smiling crookedly and nudging his chin in the direction of Xingke, who was talking to Hong Gu and Xianglin from behind a clipboard. "The Vice-General will be in command in my absence. Surely then there are no problems."

Private Yagami, the epitome of a grunt soldier - the ones that inevitably died no matter how well planned a battle strategy was, but even so the only ones who knew they'd even died were their loved ones - managed an unusually fierce glare for His Highness, despite the fact that Lelouch could see the sweat pouring off of his brow, and noticed how tense his muscles were. It was an admirable show of determination, but it would surely shatter at the smallest of pushes.

"The Vice-General told that His Highness and the Gawain will be required in the event that Britannia deploys air forces," he replied, though he sounded as though he were reciting Xingke's own words as he spoke. He probably was.

Lelouch nodded absently, running a finger up and down the length of his cheek, dangerously close to his left eye. Private Yagami's resolve shattered then, and he flinched. "The Red Knight and the Gold Knight will take my place. If I do not take care of this matter, Japan - and possibly many other places - will be in grave danger."

It was then that Sergeant Jian, recognizable by the more authorative way with which he walked, the fact that he was one of the few from Xingke's forces to have been given a high standing position in the reformed Anti-Britannian Front and, above all, by the folded up piece of paper clenched in his right hand, walked up to them. He looked to be a nervous wreck still, keeping his eyes anywhere but on Lelouch, though having the resolve to approach his King was noteworthy in itself. "… Your Highness…"

"She's escaped, hasn't she?" Lelouch cut him off, chuckling under his breath at the immediate look of both shock and relief that flashed over Sergeant Jian's face. "That is why I must go. If she reaches the Emperor uncontested, it could be very bad for all of us."

Lelouch reached out with his consciousness, feeling the earth itself ripple around the power he exuded, all the while leaving the world's inhabitants unknowing that such a power was thriving around them. He could feel C.C.'s consciousness, strong and without a solid state, as liquid trapped within the flimsy stone of his reach. But more than that, on a plane beyond his actual reach, he could feel his father. It was unusual that he could, since he could not feel any other Geass-related sources besides C.C.'s, Rolo's and Villeta's, but it seemed that his ability to feel his father came from the fact that the Code rippling within him was the same one that had bestowed Geass upon him to begin with. Yes… This power, strange and uncertain as it was, filled Lelouch with a distinct sort of satisfaction. He felt like a true King, not just somebody with the title of King, watching over those beneath him like a God.

And it felt fantastic.

With this, he truly could forgive the loss of his Geass. After all, he now was in a position where it was hardly necessary to force people into obedience - those who he required obedience from granted it unconditionally, and to force anybody else into obedience would be inhumane. With the Code, he could assert his position as a King. Though the thought of being an eternally living King made him ill, as it was the same as an unchanging world, he managed to dismiss the thought. He could worry about such a thing when the fighting was over. Until such a time came, being an immortal soldier was a boon among boons.

"Who has, Your Highness?" Private Yagami, the more sensibly calm of the two - though, given the way he shook slightly when Lelouch's vibrant eyes swept over him, it was hardly worthy of an award - asked.

"C.C.," Lelouch growled, trying to sound annoyed and surprised - he was the former, though not to the extent they would have liked. His annoyance came more from the fact that she had actually done it; he had fully known and anticipated her attempting to gather the means for an escape, and knew a proper imprisonment without using Geass-based traps would have been foolish. But perhaps, perhaps she would have exercised some form of humility and stayed in her cell, receiving daily meals from Lelouch himself. She would have been treated to more kindness than any other, even if she was a traitor, because Lelouch could not in good consciousness show her as much cruelty as the world had shown him.

But instead she had run off to her death. So, because he was now clearly the dominant one in the fragmented remains of their bond, it was up to him to save her as she had done for him in the past. He would save her, and then dump her back into that prison personally. And after that, there would be no escape. And he could then set about avenging the treachery she had shown to him.

Nodding, Private Yagami ran toward the distant G-1 Base that still held the Lancelot and the Gawain. Two Knightmare Frames who, like the men they had been named after, fought side by side as though they were brothers. There was a treachery in the past of the men from which they had been named that struck a certain chord of irony in Lelouch, though he didn't dare pursue the thought. Treachery and betrayal made him ill on little more than a thought.

Looking over at Xingke, the thought of betrayal became even more ironic to Lelouch. That man had once told him that the Chinese believed him to be the reincarnation of the Hero of Chaos. That was admirable and all, but the true irony came in that one of the Hero of Chaos' greatest enemies had been Lu Bu, a man who's entire life had been based upon betrayal. Betraying and killing his foster father, betraying his second foster father and in the end being betrayed by his men, whereupon he had been killed by the Hero of Chaos. Lelouch found that he was very much like both men, and that both amused and disgusted him.

While Sergeant Jian mutely excused himself and ran off to perform some other sort of mundane task that his higher-ups had given him, based on what had been given to Jian's higher-ups, inevitably looping back to the orders Lelouch had given to those directly beneath him, Lelouch leaned back on his feet. Around him people continued to rush supplies, and now KMFs as well, onto the Hogosha. The ship itself was spread across a long strip of land adjacent to the Tokyo Bay, which loomed behind them like the vastness of the Pacific itself. Lelouch smiled as he glanced back at the peaceful waters of the bay, so sharply contrasting the war torn world around it.

Watching the water, Lelouch wondered what it would be like. As it was, he could feel no lasting pain. No matter what his body suffered, he would live on. Immortal as he was, he could not say he understood the sort of torment C.C. had been through, to have to be on the brink of death so many times only to have the salvation of feeling nothing torn from the tips of her fingers as her Code tugged her back into the realm of the living, healing whatever blemish had been placed upon her skin and whatever scars had been placed upon her insides. And now he was like that, unable to feel the lasting pain of anything that previously would have killed him. He couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to be denied death itself. To feel his body, the body of an eighteen year old man that would look no different twenty years from now, fifty years from now, or even two centuries from now when the great grandchildren of those around him were married and bearing children of their own, crushed and then repaired many times over until the sensation of being embraced by death and then torn back into the world where he could again feel pain drove him to insanity.

"Lelouch." He turned around, nodding in greeting to Suzaku as he approached. Suzaku was dressed in an obsidian black suit of armor bereft of a helmet, with a longsword attached to his left hip. He looked like a warrior from many centuries past, when knights in shining armor and warriors brandishing sword and shield for their loved ones had been the norm, before the age of might and steel had gave way to the efficiency of a well aimed bullet. "Are you going to Kaminejima?"

The thought of not going, letting C.C. die and doing as she pleased - not that the latter was a new experience to be had - once again made Lelouch want to laugh. "Of course I am. What use is creating tomorrow if Charles intends to destroy it?"

o---o

This was it. He felt ill looking at the Geass sigil that shone so brightly on the large, stone door before him, but Lelouch ran his finger along it's length anyway. It was a tangible remnant of Geass' age-old existence, an existence that had transcended that of humanity itself. This door, wherever it led, would take him to a place that the overflowing power within him could call home. A place where, contrary to the repulse they would receive in the world, they would be welcomed with open arms. Well, not really, but definitely welcomed more warmly than they would be otherwise.

Suzaku stood behind him, backs pressed together and their hands laced together. At any moment the door could suddenly activate - Lelouch wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but surely it opened somehow when it came into contact with the Geass - and it would not be unreasonable to assume that Suzaku would be left behind if they were not touching at the time. Lelouch ignored thoughts of their strange contact and focused instead on the door, looking at the indents in the Geass' sigil and all along the door. They were too perfectly carved to have been from any kind of battle that may have taken place, though.

However many miles away, the Hogosha was under Xingke's command, nearing the Britannia base at California, where so many troops that had likely been poised to defend Area 11 prior to it's internal takeover by Lelouch waited for them. Lelouch wanted to wonder if Xingke had a solid strategy planned - Lelouch's own plan consisted of employing Cornelia's idea of bombarding the base from land and sea while Karen and a task force worked on methodically planting Sakuradite-based detonators to destroy the base in it's entirety. Cruel? Yes. Beyond what Xingke could do in good conscience? Probably. But it was effective. And it would ensure victory. That, in the battle against Charles Di Britannia, mattered more than being humane.

"Alright," Lelouch muttered, dismissing thoughts regarding the fate of his men that he had unceremoniously abandoned. With his right hand he tightened his grip on Suzaku's hand, while the other - the one that bore a symbol identical to the one on the door before him on the palm - he placed open palmed to the door, channelling all of the strength that he could physically feel within him through it.

The entire room rumbled as he did so, a foreign strength resisting his every effort. The defenses the door exerted to resist his breaching of it were terribly powerful, but he kept up all the same. Soon, the sigil on the door began to shine brighter, until it shone so brightly he was forced to avert his eyes for fear of going blind in it's depths. And then it was all gone, suddenly, and he and Suzaku were soaring through a plane not unlike the one he found himself in when he had talked to C.C. or V.V. in his mind.

As soon as they broke free of the astral plane that had claimed them, Lelouch looked around at what he considered to be the closest thing to Heaven. There wasn't an endless expanse of white, fluffy clouds and angels weren't going to and fro and there weren't swaths of people enjoying themselves in eternal bliss, but the resemblance was there. A look-alike of Stonehenge stood before him like a temple, and all around it were dilated clouds of a mixed white and brown. Lelouch reached out to touch a cloud, fully intent on ripping at it angrily for so poorly mimicking a place of eternal happiness, but instead his fingers reached an invisible solid long before they touched the cloud. Confused, he ran his fingers along the smooth surface until he came to a small indent, whereupon he pulled.

And then, in his hand and fully visible, was a mirror. … A mirror? Lelouch smirked, wondering what exactly this world was to have been a reflection made from mirrors and other such things. It was interesting all the same.

"What is this place?" Suzaku asked, pulling his hand from Lelouch's and similarly running it along the clouds. Lelouch wanted to laugh when he saw Suzaku jump at the solid, invisible object that greeted him, but this was hardly the time to find laughter in such a thing.

"I'm not sure," Lelouch replied honestly, looking at his reflection in the mirror - definitely a real mirror, he decided, tossing it away. "It's strange, though. Inside me… something is calling out to me." He placed a hand to his chest, trying to suppress the overwhelming amount of the Code's power erupting from him, that hadn't ceased since the moment the door had pulled them into this strange world.

Suzaku inclined his head, looking over at Lelouch while he pulled a mirror from it's invisible resting place. "Are they here?" The question of who 'they' were hardly needed to be said.

"There," Lelouch stated, and pointed forward, where many stairs - so many that had Lelouch been focused on that alone, he would have dreaded them more than what awaited him atop them - led to the temple-like variation of Stonehenge. It looked far too important for them not to have been there, though - common sense dictated that they investigate.

And so they did. Suzaku first, as was knightly instinct, with Lelouch trailing close behind, watching from side to side as though the surreal world would crumble around them. With how easily the mirrors with which the world had been made were torn from place, his worries had merit, he thought. Paranoia was a good ally if it was warranted, of course.

As soon as they reached the top, Lelouch collapsed against Suzaku's back, breathing heavily… and not from the far too exerting climb up the stairs. The power within him intensified to a nearly unfathomable level, such too the point that it rendered him incapable of remaining on his own feet. The power, strangely enough, dared to overwhelm him so utterly that it took his feet out from under him, leaving Suzaku's back as his only solace from landing face first into the ground. "… I'm okay," he managed as he pushed away from Suzaku, though he kept one hand on his comrade's shoulder to remain steady.

In front of them, with no intent of hiding, was the source of his problem. Charles stood with C.C. close behind, though Lelouch could tell with a passing glance that she didn't like standing there, arms stretched out toward the proverbial heavens as a dark stream of energy, shaped like a tube descended toward him. It cackled with lightning bolts and swirls of blue and purple, and looking at it filled Lelouch with a sense of terrible dread that he couldn't shake, hard as he tried.

"Good, you're here," Charles said monotonously, not even looking back to confirm his presence. "To embrace tomorrow, can you stop me from asserting today?"

Lelouch snarled as he pushed away from Suzaku entirely, balancing out the power pouring from him - the power alone, though it could not be felt, made Suzaku take several steps away from him - in an attempt to stand properly. He succeeded with some effort, and advanced toward his father while staring daggers into the back of both his head and C.C.'s.

"Well?"

Snarling again, Lelouch brought his left hand to rest in front of his face. The sigil of Geass on it shone brightly, threatening to blind him. From it exuded all of the power that now threatened him so greatly. "Living for today, or even the past… I cannot allow this. A world without change is worthless!"

"And yet, was it not your devotion to your mother's memory that started everything?" Charles replied casually, but he laughed derisively when Lelouch let out a startled choke in response. "How can you embrace tomorrow when it is Marianne's memory that drives you?"

Lelouch cursed under his breath, but mostly because he realized his father was right. What sort of revolutionary was driven by such things? Sure his mother was to be loved and deserved to be avenged - well, not anymore, now that he knew that she too had abandoned him - but why did that warrant him turning the world upside down, preaching for such things as a tomorrow, an ideal future?

He hadn't. He never had. His desire to avenge his mother and his desire to reform the world had always been kept separate, two burning desires that weighed on him just as heavily but in entirely different ways. And avenging his mother meant nothing to him now, he realized, because deep down he knew his mother hadn't cared for him when she had allowed the attack to happen and had allowed Nunnally to be so horribly damaged for it. The fact that she had defended Nunnally was a small show of motherly instinct that hardly granted her forgiveness for allowing the attack to happen in the first place. Allow the lives of her children to be so horribly disfigured for no good reason.

"This world is distorted," Lelouch replied evenly, looking over to Suzaku as he did. Suzaku nodded. "People fight, people die… conflicts continue. Britannia facilitates this, embraces it, welcomes it. And in turn, the rest of the world is forced to. That is why I fight; to turn this world into one that can solve conflicts with their words, reach out to their neighbours and understand one another.

"Fighting for tomorrow… that is a foolish thing. But I will do so, to make sure that the tomorrow after that will be reached with words!"

Charles turned around then, fury in his eyes like no other before. C.C. turned around as well, but her gaze was softer and she kept it averted from Lelouch's; on some level, no matter how subconscious, she hadn't wanted him to see her throwing her life away like this. "You fool!" he bellowed, glaring down at Lelouch. "Everybody fights for tomorrow, whether their's is different from your's or not! The fighting will continue, the hatred will continue, and it will all begin again.

"If you can understand that, understand that you will give your life fighting a battle you cannot win, then tell so to her." He gestured with his hand, and some of the mirrors to his right became visible, rippling until they opened to reveal a room of white. There was nothing - no windows, no doors, no furnishings. And in the middle stood Marianne, smiling gently as she nodded in greeting to Charles and C.C. and stepped out.

"Hello Lelouch," she greeted warmly as she spotted him. As though she could feel and see the power rippling from him, she brought up one finger to touch the air in front of her. "I've been waiting," she said evenly, running her hand along a wave of energy only she could see, if she even did see it.

"Mother," Lelouch replied just as evenly, though his every instinct was warring with the surprise inside of him. How was she here? She was dead! Then again, this place was very strange. Perhaps, here the living and the dead came together as one. Or even more likely, those with the Geass had free reign over this place even in death. The possibility was there.

"Her Majesty?" Suzaku gasped, reflexively moving to bow, a past formality of this that scattered remnants of his honor to Britannia demand he upheld. Lelouch grabbed him between his gauntlets and the armor covering his arms, hoisting him back into place and shaking his head disapprovingly. "Lelouch?" he then asked, turning to look at him with a disbelieving gaze.

"She is not the Empress," Lelouch ground out, glaring at his mother with as much hatred as he could muster. It wasn't as much as he would have liked, as a large part of him still drew from her sacrifice for determination and strength, but he managed to find some hatred in him for her selfish, idealistic sacrifice. "She is not my mother. Marianne Vi Britannia is nothing to me, and as your King, she means nothing to you."

"You would deny your own mother?" Marianne asked incredulously, though Lelouch suspected that the emotion was forged. Her face was much too blank, like C.C.'s, for it to be a genuine care for him that had made her ask. Well, she probably did care… just not enough to address the fact that she had condemned both of her children to eight years of tormented solitude.

"You were the memory I chased when everything started," Lelouch admitted begrudgingly, clenching his fists as he did so. "Whenever I saw my father on the news, I would curse his existence and ask why you had to die. Why you had to be sacrificed for something I didn't even understand - never did I believe that your death was the crime it had been made out to be.

"But I know now that you, like those around you, were not worth my care." Lelouch threw his arm out, gesturing toward Suzaku with the point of a finger. "You no longer cared about being my mother, and since then I have replaced you. Comrades, allies, friends… they have replaced you. And so, mother, you are nothing anymore."

"You…" Marianne gasped, casting a look to C.C. and then to Suzaku, frowning deeply. "Do you not care about C.C.'s plan?"

"You're defending Charles'," Lelouch pointed out the obvious, keeping his voice dangerously even. "Was C.C.'s plan really worth dying for, though? Worth twisting your son into this? Worth blinding and crippling your daughter?"

Charles and C.C. continued to look on in silence, both looking respectively uninterested and bored with the exchange. Marianne could hardly claim such indifference, stepping forward several paces and reaching out to touch Lelouch, who shrugged away from her hold. "I couldn't do anything about it!" she cried desperately, her eyes showing the genuine care that she held for him. The care he was now denying, as she had denied his care eight years ago. "It would have been selfish of me otherwise!"

Suddenly Lelouch snapped, bringing his hand up and placing it open palmed in front of him, the Geass sigil on it glaring at Marianne like an angry scar. "Have you ever not been selfish, mother? Did you, in sacrificing yourself, ever once think of what it would do to Nunnally and I? Or did you, like everybody else, think only of yourself even as you were assassinated? Thoughts of your children, what would become of them… The only thought you gave us was that I would be a useful tool for your will."

Marianne scowled, though Lelouch noted that she was unable to deny his claim. "This is not just my answer, mother, but Nunnally's as well. Again I will bear the burden of her will, giving her a better life despite her own wishes, and I will deny you for it. For Nunnally, I command you… begone!"

With a flicker of will, all of his power surged around him, cackling angrily and with fierce hunger. Empowered by his emotions, his hatred, the power sought to do his bidding, and with another flicker of thought it all channelled itself at Marianne, who unceremoniously vanished into a rainbow of colourful remnants, her body fading from the feet up far faster than she could feasibly manage. With little more than a cry of surprise leaving her lips, she vanished from his life once more. Only this time, her leaving his life left him with no feeling at all.

o---o

Xingke watched the water below from the deck of the Hogosha as it advanced over the open seas, high above them and certainly out of reach of their wrath. Lelouch had abandoned them with little more than a passing notice, saying that other business that would be frightfully dangerous if it was not attended to demanded his presence. Things more important than his own army, his own decisive actions that he had promised to spearhead? The boy was far too self-centered for Xingke's liking.

And thus he had come to be the leader of their brazen march into the Britannia proper, hoping to swiftly assail a base that had been the impregnable target of Euro Universe military offensives against Britannia for many years. And never had they reached the mainland, for the navy that awaited them and the natural defenses of the California base were every bit as imposing as their base at Haifa was in the Middle East. Even if their recent military operations had yielded questionable success, never could it be said that the Holy Empire of Britannia knew not how to raise a shield. They most certainly did.

Below the Hogosha, a plethora of Longdan mobile fortresses numbering somewhere between eighteen and twenty - exact reports said eighteen, but three separate men had done a count before they had departed and reported twenty - hovered low over the water, immune to the waves but all the while susceptible to the way they crashed against the sides of the army green-colored, pyramid-shaped ships and rocked them from side to side. And they had precious cargo too, in the form of tens upon tens of the newly rolled out Han-Shu KMFs that were sure to dominate over anything Britannia had to offer. It was suicide in the sense that they still depended upon overwhelming numbers, but a single Han-Shu could theoretically contend with a single Sutherland with no problem. Only their blocky shape and their subsequently awkward mobility hindered that thought from being a certainty.

Xingke leaned forward, coming perilously close to falling over the edge and into the waiting depths below, and coughed. It felt raw in his throat, stinging every part of it so completely that he nearly gagged. And when he did so, blood flew forth, staining his chin and probably the water below - the latter to a far smaller degree - red with the dark substance. His chest felt heavy then, as it always did after such an occurrence, and the burning desire to curl up and wait for the ache to subside was almost unbearable. Almost.

Compared to that ache, the uncertain feel of having nothing but the ocean beneath him - Xingke could scarcely claim to being as acquainted with the sea as he would like - was nonexistent. He had come out for some air, to forget that it was not earth beneath them but rather the frighteningly strange depths of the ocean and to calm his frayed nerves, more than shattered from much time spent thoughtfully coming up with a suitable course of action. Of course Cornelia had approached him and told him what she and Lelouch came up with, and while that was all well and fine, the matter of what to do with the main force nagged at him still. A naval assault combined with a daring charge led by Cornelia could only get them so far, and he wanted something more.

Jeremiah would be heading up the Geass Corps in Rolo's stead on land, independent of Cornelia but still generally under her instruction. He was the best suited for the task, as he had served in Britannia faithfully for many years and could likely better handle Cornelia's more brazen fighting style and harsh reprimands better than anybody else could. That, and Rolo would be joining himself in the air, ensuring that Britannia's air forces stationed in the area would provide minimal trouble. Karen too would be on land, and the combination of Ogi and Todo would be managing things from the Hogosha. This left them sorely lacking for personnel when it came to an alternate battle plan to make sure everything else went smoothly.

One of those men - Ogi, as it were - approached him from behind, thankfully having taken no notice of his painful spewing of blood. "Is Lelouch really intending to leave this to us?"

"We can fight without Lelouch," Xingke replied without looking back - he didn't want to see his own doubt, his own unwilling dependence upon the King to be reflected in Ogi's gaze. "We will break through their defenses, seize the port to stop them from fleeing, and occupy the base before Lelouch returns. He is powerful, but we need not be dependent upon him."

"R-right," Ogi murmured, clearly less certain about that than Xingke was. It was to be expected, he supposed; Lelouch, son of their hated enemy or not, was the masked man whom had rose from the charred remains of their hope and offered them a fighting chance to restore Japan. And though it had been in a rather roundabout manner, Japan had indeed been restored. They and their brethren were not Elevens, but Japanese; because of Lelouch. In one way or another, the world itself as it now was, was because of Lelouch. That was not a comforting thought.

"Their defenses will be hitting us hard before we can reach them," Xingke explained, gesturing toward the horizon where, distantly, land could be seen. And on that land, though it could not be seen, would be turrets and many other such defenses that would be bombarding them ruthlessly. "We need to clear a path for the VTOL, and we need to form the fleet into a line to begin work on taking out their defenses. The more damage we can do before we reach shore, the better - the less damage we take, the better."

Ogi frowned, tilting his head forward to watch the rolling of the waves beneath them. "Couldn't you take them out from the air?"

"I could," Xingke acknowledged, "but it would be foolish to presume that Britannia has not accounted for that. Presuming they have, I will have my hands full in the air."

"Mmm…" Ogi hummed. He tugged at the collar of his uniform, stifled by the tight fitting clothing that deprived him of most of the air in his lungs. "This would be so much easier if ---"

"--- No," Xingke quickly interrupted, clenching and unclenching his fists. "We can win without Lelouch. We _will_ win without Lelouch. So that we can prove this world is not dependant upon him.

"Tell Rolo and Karen to launch," he continued, inspiration striking as he observed the horizon, the way the land curved around the base in such a way that made it stick out, much like a peninsula. "Rolo will attack and Karen provide support; they should be able to do some damage to their defenses before having to pull back."

Ogi nodded and turned to walk away, Xingke noticing from the corner of his eye that he was attaching a mic to his left ear and speaking into it simultaneously as he walked. Something along the lines of, "They're already ready to launch?" drifted to his ears before Ogi was gone, leaving him alone to his thoughts. His thoughts and the forthcoming carnage, of course. Both were of the utmost importance to him, though; watching in satisfaction as havoc was wrought upon Britannia by a mind other than Lelouch's was something that satisfied him in a most primative way.

The sound of loudly grinding gears filled his ears as the Hogosha prepared to launch the Guren and the Vincent, both surging into the air not a moment later. The Guren was imposing no matter how distant she got, looking like a massive, red bird of prey to all below it. And in many regards it was, in contrast to the Vincent that imposed a fear matched only by the Lancelot in it's foes. This fear came not from it's own strength, but rather it's strong resemblance to the Lancelot and consequently the association that many made when they spotted it.

Xingke watched in grim satisfaction as the Guren dove to the side, a wide wave of radiation energy surging from it's iron claw hand and down onto the ground, where something Xingke couldn't yet see exploded in a way that told him it was a machine of some kind. The Vincent followed close behind, MVS in both hands and rushing at things in the air that were nothing more than small black marks in the sky from such a distance, though more explosions followed in their wake. Planes of some kind, as Britannia was generally lacking the airborne capabilities that recent technological explorations by Rakshata had granted them. Now, their main forces were still earthbound, but Team Zero was a task force that could rival anything Britannia could put against them regardless. By all accounts, the Gawain was capable of wiping out countless airborne enemies at once with it's Hadron cannons. The Lancelot was only slightly less destructive in that regard, but both it and the Guren had mobility that trumped anything else any military had access to.

"That's right…" Xingke murmured, smirking as even more explosions lined the horizon. Even from such a distance, the warning sirens of an attack on the base could be heard. "Even without Lelouch, we are strong! We will erase Britannia!"

Xingke turned on his heel, walking toward the elevator that granted access to the various levels of the large ship. The elevator took him down for quite some time until he came out in the command center, where many were gathered doing various duties. Todo was standing in the center of the room, watching the same thing Xingke had been watching through the windshield. Throwing his long hair over his shoulder, Xingke advanced on Todo. "How close are we?"

"We will be within range of their defenses in less than two minutes," Todo replied grimly. "The order has been given for the Longdan to prioritize reaching the shore so that we can unleash the main forces, and we are steadily rising to avoid their attacks. But we will be in trouble if we reach the shore and their defenses are still in place."

Xingke nodded, already turning toward the door. "I'll go. Send word to get the Shen-Hu ready."

"Wait," Todo called. Xingke paused at the door, looking over his shoulder and raising his eyebrow in a quizzical manner. "If they see you out there, they may send out their main forces as well."

"I'm counting on it," Xingke replied with an amused edge to his voice. "Make sure all ships are ready to perform creeping barrages while they move."

He kept a leisurely pace while he walked down the desolate halls of the Hogosha. Around him people continued to move about, some mechanics rushing to perform some form of task in preparation for the battle to come and some soldiers moving to their stations, be they defensive posts on the ship or KMFs in the hangar. Subsequently, as he entered the hangar he had quite a following behind him, all of which fanned out toward their respective KMF - Sutherlands, Burais, Gekkas, and Akatsukis littered the hangar in great number - while he made his way toward the Shen-Hu, standing out amongst the rest with it's comparatively irregular structure and blue color.

The lift up toward the cockpit of the Shen-Hu seemed excruciatingly slow, as though time had slowed just to allow him sufficient time to think. Just what was he doing, really? They scarcely had the manpower to be worrying about the fate of others; this battle was certainly a battle wherein objectives needed to be completed, no matter what the cost. All the while, he was willing to throw himself out there before the battle had even begun to aid the two fighters who least needed it? More to the point, he was taunting their main forces into attacking when they in turn could not fight back?

No matter. They would win regardless; the enemy would be too preoccupied by Rolo, Karen and himself, anyway. Or at least he hoped.

Feeling the Shen-Hu as it surged to life was heavenly to his senses. As if leaving his body, his senses travelled from his own sense of hearing, sight, touching… to that of the Shen-Hu's, as if he himself were flying. No matter how much of a tactician he was, and no matter how collected an individual he prided himself in being, there was always going to be an animalistic part of him that loved the battlefield like a second mother.

Again he coughed, unyielding in the pain it struck to his chest as blood splattered his lower lip and chin once again. This time he smirked; the pain was real, and the reality of it was that his time was coming to an end. He truly was a man to envy, with intelligence to rival Lelouch and piloting skill that could keep the fabled Black Knight on his toes. But he had not the time to make use of those talents, which was the Heavens' way of reminding him that one man cannot hold all the cards. He could do so much good for the world, he suspected, if only he had the time with which to do it.

But alas, he did not. But at the very least, he could do as much as he could with those abilities until his time ran out. Britannia, his enemy… he would strike them a blow they would never forget, and die with a smile on his face. Britannia would remember Li Xingke, the legendary commander of the Anti-Britannian Front that crumbled the California base like no other had before.

He arced downward, descending upon the base with a determination none could deny. Two planes spun downward to meet him, and he readied both of his slash harkens and launched them at the planes, destroying them without so much as slowing down. As they returned to his hands he began to spin them in his hands, launching them one after the other at two turrets as he approached.

The base was expansive, but as far as naval bases went it looked not out of the ordinary. Many ships were docked, burning, along the waterfront, buildings and KMFs were stationed along a paved runway that looked more like a landing strip than a base. Most importantly, the many turrets and cannons lining the waterfront and the base itself were imposing, possibly more threatening than the KMFs stationed there.

He spun to the side as another plane attempted to dent the thick armor of the Shen-Hu with bullets, throwing out the slash harken in his left hand with little more than a flicker of effort. The tip dug deep into the side of the plane and then arced downward, driving the plane into the ground where it exploded noisily. As the harken retracted Xingke turned again, swinging out one of the Shen-Hu's legs into the small barrel of a turret, destroying the entire thing. It was so easy, kind of like what one would think killing an unarmed civilian would be like, although the thought was depressing on account of the inhumanity involved in that comparison. But destroying these weapons, unable to defend themselves from such close range, was hardly inhumane.

Karen dove in next to him, facing to the side and loosing a blast of radiation from her hand. The blast streamed across his field of vision, destroying four lined up turrets before it faded away and granted him sight again. As soon as it did, both were forced to back off as something again dove at them from above. To Xingke's surprise, the Vincent turned on him with dual MVS drawn, looking to pick a fight Xingke was sure would be a brutal one. But why would Rolo…

No. It wasn't Rolo. On the left shoulder, where one of the Vincent's Factsphere sensors should have been, was a depiction of King Arthur, holding Excalibur over his head with his mouth open wide, likely loosing a battle cry. And faded behind it, still clear and visible, was the number one. Britannia was pulling out the best of the best, were they…

"The Knight of One," Xingke greeted, dropping the slash harken in his right hand in favour of the short sword sheathed near his shoulder, "Bismarck Waldstein."

o---o

"Your own mother!" Charles boomed, though his voice danced with a laughter that surprised Lelouch more than him actually acknowledging her having been there at all had. "She was a fool, but she did have her uses."

"Is that why you hated her?" Lelouch asked monotonously, lowering his hand. "Because she disagreed with you and your self-indulgent dreams?"

"Hate her?" Charles raised an eyebrow, slowly and meaningfully, the bushy line of hair rising with an arch that made it look even more obscene. "I didn't hate her. We were enemies - you're too weak to understand that your enemies need not be hated."

Lelouch made a dismissive 'Hmph,' sound, turning away from his father and staring down C.C. with his piercing gaze. "It is convenient when you do hate them, however," he quipped, his eyes not leaving her's as he spoke. As could be expected, she started at his harsh words, though she did not even begin to attempt to comment on them. All the same, Lelouch saw and revelled in the hurt he saw in her eyes. They were both so used to that feeling that it was no longer anything noteworthy, at any rate.

"Hate is an emotion that clouds judgment," Charles stated with authority, suddenly looming over Lelouch as the imposing figure he always had been. "Hate your enemies, and it makes it all the harder to judge properly."

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked, aware that he had meant that on a personal level - Lelouch could tell that, in some way or another, his father had just presumptuously claimed a victory.

Suddenly Charles' eyes flashed with the Geass - both eyes, despite the fact that the Geass was not permanently active, which startled Lelouch - and he felt a tearing. Deep within him, the power of his Code was being ripped from his body, taking with it in theory any and everything that got in it's way. It felt like his heart was being constricted and crushed all at once, felt like his lungs were being torn into so violently that it was a miracle he could still breathe. Every bone in his body felt on the verge of crushing, breaking and leaving him no more than a pile of flesh on the ground. And he cried out against it, loudly, collapsing to the ground so heavily that it was only the timely arrival of Suzaku's arms that made it more painful than necessary.

Similarly, C.C. too had collapsed, though she had done so wordlessly. The swirling stream of black energy seemed to absorb their powers, swelling and swelling until finally the clouds in the sky above parted, revealing a whole other planet. It was large, like a moon descending upon them to bring death to all. And yet at the same time it was distant, so far out of reach that he didn't think it posed any threat at all. In fact, the only thing imposing about it was the sigil of Geass on it's face, glaring down at them. The sigil grew brighter by the second until, before long, it seemed as though it were the sun, granting light to all around it.

Lelouch could feel the remnant of the Code inside him, drained as it was, still keeping him alive. He suspected that too would fade when all was said and done, but there was still time. Time with which to stop this from happening, to deny his father's ideals and to deny C.C.'s death. He stood slowly, feeling his bones strain as though they were in the worst pain imaginable under the stress placed upon them, clinging tightly to Suzaku's shoulder as he did so. His friend comfortingly wrapped an arm around his waist, giving him the support he had never truly asked for. A rare compulsion to actually say, "Thank you," swept over him.

This would not end like this. No, there was still hope… He was Zero, after all. With that thought in mind, Lelouch scowled menacingly at Charles, forcing him to raise an eyebrow in something resembling surprise. "You always only thought of yourself… C.C. told me you exiled me for my sake, but I don't believe that. You knew I would survive; you knew I had the will to hunt you down and see you dead by my own hand. But you didn't exile me to make me stronger. You exiled me because you knew it would turn me into another you, someday.

"But it never will," Lelouch said defiantly, lifting his hand again. The sigil shone brightly as it resonated with the energy and the Geass existence around him, neither seen nor felt but clearly there. "I know what becoming you will mean, and I will not give in. I will recreate this world as I see fit, and I will do so by my own will! And you, who would deny the will of the people by forcing their future upon them, have no right to have the Geass!"

Charles laughed a cold, mocking laugh, narrowing his eyes. "The Geass is a means to an end, no matter what that end is. So long as you have desires, ideals, the Geass will give you the strength to achieve them."

"You're wrong!" Lelouch exclaimed, looking toward the planet lingering overhead. The sigil reflecting on it's surface shown brighter suddenly, as though agreeing with him. "The Geass, is a wish! People have wills, ideals! The Geass is a wish to grant those! But Geass is an evil thing, used to grant the wishes of corrupt people, like you. But I will not allow it! If the people wish for the tomorrow you will bring, they will not listen to me!"

He raised both hands into the air, palms facing upward, as if in a prayer. "If the will of the people is their own tomorrow, then stop!" he cried. "A tomorrow forced upon them, a tomorrow that satisfies only one person… Do not allow it!"

The corner of his eye fell on C.C. who, predictably enough, was obviously more irate over the lost opportunity to die - he knew that her desire to do so was a defense mechanism, anyway - than over the potential failure of Charles' plan. This raised the question of why she was defending it anyway, when up until she betrayed him she had been sworn to stopping his plan. "Lelouch, you…" she muttered, though she hadn't seemed capable of saying much else.

"You are a traitor, C.C.," he replied. He could slowly feel his power returning to his body as he spoke, renewing his senses and healing the ache in his limbs. And at the same time, the dark energy that had brought forth the new sky above began to fade, and with it the planet began to fade into non-existence once again. "I thought you to be my partner, my friend - the one person who, in this world that has taken everything from us both, I could call my companion. My friends were my family, my comrades and my allies, but you…" He saw Suzaku blink next to him, but Suzaku didn't appear offended by the special regard C.C. received. "You were there, with power, when the world was ready to forget the name of Lelouch Vi Britannia.

"But no. You, like all others, turned your back on me. You are deserving of your loneliness, C.C., because it is the only thing you are worth."

As the last of the energy returned to his body, Lelouch turned and began to walk once again, ignoring his father's obvious but non-vocal outrage, C.C.'s apparent dismay and, most of all, the tears welling in his eyes. He didn't need to cry for anybody, not anymore. The will of the Geass itself was now on his side, and he could hardly say he cared what either of the two people he'd left behind - Suzaku, though reluctant, had followed him the moment he had turned around - planned to do.

o---o

Xingke gritted his teeth, spewing out more blood as he narrowly dodged one of the Vincent's devastatingly powerful swords. He pulled back as Bismarck pressed the attack, moving up and down and in any direction he could possibly move in, determined to gain enough distance to safely fight back. The short sword had proven to be of limited use, incapable of measuring up to the MVS in strength and useful only in the most extreme of circumstances, when avoiding was decidedly impossible.

The slash harken in his left hand continued to spin, being launched every now and then when distance allowed. Bismarck would easily dodge every attack as if he'd known they were coming all along, and before long Xingke had begun to lose hope of scoring a direct hit.

His insides ached, his brain felt like it may implode, and he could feel the life in his blood draining more and more as he relied more and more on the Shen-Hu's strength. It was running only at forty-five percent of it's power, and even that made him feel as though he were being crushed by the pressure of the power drawing itself from the Shen-Hu. But he cared not, determined only on winning this fight. It would be a boon to die taking down the Knight of One, the finest Britannia had in their military. Yes, dying in battle with such a man was most ideal.

"Commander Li Xingke, correct?" Bismarck asked. His voice was deep, deeper than Xingke had anticipated, and just his voice had the air of a man of many years' experience. Many more than he himself had, at any rate.

"And you are the Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein," he replied, though it was obvious he had already known. He dodged another swing of the MVS, noticing almost too late that it was only his skill that kept him safe; his every move seemed as though it was being watched, with sword swings aiming for where he was going to be as opposed to where he was and kicks coming in from directions before he could even begin to move. Normally, he would have decided that Bismarck was simply a terrifically good pilot and a match worthy of dying to, but Xingke knew enough about the supernatural powers he had recently become aware of to know that this sort of skill was not the natural sort.

"This power… You know what it is, right?" Bismarck asked. He smoothly dodged Xingke's effort to counterattack, taking little more than cosmetic damage as the spinning slash harken in the Shen-Hu's left hand sliced into his right arm. He easily swerved around a swing of the Shen-Hu's short sword, cleaving into the side of it's left arm with one of the MVS in his hands. Xingke narrowly saved himself by moving ever so slightly to the side - he hadn't the time to do anything else, and his senses were swiftly being numbed by the minute as more and more of the awful, iron-tasting blood seeping from inside him filled his mouth, and then everything else once it spilled - so that the blade barely reached into his Frame's arm. It was still highly operational, thankfully.

Xingke huffed while he descended downward, using tact and simply hide-and-seek tactics to lure Bismarck into an effective chase. "I will not let the Geass defeat me," he grunted, focusing on remaining out of Bismarck's prospective range. They went over the water, high in the sky and between the rows of KMFs that still had yet to be piloted at the base itself until finally Xingke turned about and struck, flinging both slash harkens out at once and digging them into the arms of the pursuing Vincent. Karen tried approaching from behind with Rolo on her tail, but Xingke quickly sent her an encrypted message, which took more effort than he would have liked under the present circumstances, telling her to focus on the base. There were, after all, still several pieces of defensive weaponry in place, now bombarding the Longdans and the Hogosha as they approached.

"You hit me?" Bismarck questioned, but he didn't seem surprised. He forced himself away from the slash harkens, which had the desired effect of tearing into the shielding of the Frame's upper arms as they broke free. It was wondrous that they hadn't fallen off, though. "I was right," he then laughed, pulling away to a respectable distance. "You are as strong as Her Majesty was."

Down below, Xingke made sure to keep an eye on Bismarck while he noted the progression of the battle. Karen was lending a hand to the Longdans as they docked, Han-Shus pouring into the base in tremendous number. Above, VTOL units carrying many KMFs - mostly Burai, Sutherland and Gloucester, three of which belonged to Princess Cornelia and her Knights - dropped their cargo onto the base, and from there it was absolute mayhem. The base's KMFs were finally becoming operational, though many had been destroyed in the blitzing assault they had already delivered, and the battle looked painfully one-sided, an obvious contrast to the vicious duel between each side's respective commander.

"This battlefield will be your grave," Xingke ground out, charging once again at Bismarck. The two danced around eachother, swinging and dodging and firing slash harkens in rapid succession. Xingke's entire body had begun to go numb from the stress placed upon it, flipping a switch to his side to increase the power output to even greater heights. The effect was immediate, forcing him to fall forward slightly in his seat. But the additional power was a boon, allowing him to catch Bismarck by surprise with an unexpectedly swift sword swing to the right arm, cutting it off. He soared backwards, keeping his spinning slash harken in front of him as a defense against everything the opposing Vincent shot his way, coughing up more blood during the brief moment of reprieve. Just a little longer, now…

Just a swiftly as he had attacked, Bismarck closed the distance between them and struck, slicing at the cord that he used to hold his slash harken. It continued spinning, slowly curling around the blade of the sword and all the while Bismarck tugged, forcing either him to go with it or for the wire to snap. Finally it did, tearing away from the Frame with an audible rip, leaving him without one of his slash harkens.

"You fought well," Bismarck congratulated, the sound of clapping hands filling the following silence. "Never have I had a fight so heated, not since the death of Her Majesty Marianne. You are a fine warrior, Li Xingke."

"And you as well, Bismarck Waldstein," Xingke replied respectfully. "However," he began charging the Baryon cannon, forcing the Frame's power output to one hundred percent. The strain was fatal, and he could feel the cockpit heating quickly, sweat drenching his body in seconds and his vision fading in and out. "I will not be defeated so easily."

He could feel the blood all but pouring from between his tightly pressed lips, and the life in his body was draining faster than he anticipated. Any minute now, it would end… This is what doctors had explained would happen; the culmination of his illness would inevitably be by blood loss, due to his body's growing inability to store it. Several veins were crying out for a supply of blood that he could not give, making his forearms and legs tingle as though they were having their circulation of blood cut off.

Bismarck charged at him, surely intent on finishing the fight before the cannon could fire, but Xingke knew better than to be worried. At one hundred percent, the extent of the Baryon cannon made it's previous output, no bigger than the radiation surges of the Guren or the Hadron blasts from the Lancelot, look like a child's toy gun by comparison. The blast was enormous, surely visible all the way back where the Hogosha had previously been docked in Tokyo.

There was nothing climactic about his victory, as one would hope from a fight so magnificent. Nothing remained of the Vincent and Bismarck except tiny scraps of metal, confirmation that the blast had done it's job. There was no epic speech given or to be made; Xingke had won, and he had now readied himself to give into the Heavens' will. Slowly his eyes began to drift to a close and he felt the Shen-Hu falling downwards, but all the same a gentle smile graced his lips.

For the future, he was ready to die.

* * *

Alright! That pretty much wraps up this Geass-centered mini-arc, and from here we go into more conflict before the two different sides of this story merge into one beautifully Geass and death filled arc that will get us around third base and back home. Sorry the last two scenes seemed a little rushed, though.


	26. Gawain's Lament

As promised (well, planned in my case, but I'm only noting that to avoid the misconception that I don't have this thoroughly planned out), this chapter will be going back to my field of expertise, or at least I like to think of it as such: war. It's quite a big bang as well, I think. Plenty of action – although not as much as one would like – and Lelouch tormenting abound. Okay, the latter may be a sick fetish of sorts for me, but I'm sure (read: hoping) that I do not stand alone in my love for an occasional mind fuck and/or round of torment for Lelouch. His character makes it so deliciously fun to screw with him.

... I am a sick, sick man.

* * *

"Alright. Good work, Jeremiah."

Lelouch hung up his cell phone and returned it to his pocket, casting a dark look over his shoulder at the Thought Elevator, imposing as it always was. Suzaku was at his side, watching him warily, asking with his eyes what Jeremiah had said. Lelouch smiled cruelly, looking down toward the ground and kicking at a stone with his left foot. "The California base has fallen."

"Already?" The way Suzaku asked that made surprise an expected thing, though he didn't seem surprised at all. Rather, he remained completely indifferent, as though such surprising feats were now to be expected of Lelouch – as Zero, they more or less were.

"Yeah," Lelouch replied casually, leaning back against the sigil-signed wall. "There were less casualties than I expected. Only ten Han-Shu, a single Akatsuki, and... the Shen-Hu."

Suzaku raised an eyebrow, but if he was actually bothered by the revelation – and by extension bothered by Lelouch's indifference to it – he didn't show it. "Xingke? How did he die?"

Lelouch sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose while he pushed away from the wall, pacing and nodding his head to himself. "The Knight of One," he said, shamed by his inability to predict that Britannia would go to such lengths to protect the base. "But he was defeated as well. We may have lost Xingke, but we struck a massive blow to Britannia."

That was, among other things, true. Yes, he did feel sadness over the loss of such a valuable ally, a kindred spirit, even if their morals were slightly different. But his mind needed to be on their future, the future he would bring, and not on what he had lost to attain that future. There would be time for that later, when mourning could be done openly. But right now, Xingke was allowed to be nothing more than a chess piece that had been used as bait to take one of his enemies, a Pawn placed in the path of a Knight to lure it into the open. It was a basic strategy that hurt you as much as it hurt they, and it hadn't been the intended plan, but it worked nonetheless.

And the Knight they had taken was a valuable one. The Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein, was to his father as Suzaku was to himself. An invaluable right hand, the one you relied upon when you knew no other was either skilled enough or trustworthy enough to perform a task. Among all of your many men, your plethora of allies, he was the one you knew could do what was inadvisable to ask of any other. There was bound to be sadness in the loss of their Blue Knight, but that would come later. But if worse came to absolute worst, Todo was more than capable of filling Xingke's space as a Knight. And while there really was no replacing Xingke's worth as a tactician – Duke Henry, for all Lelouch had heard from the man, was in no place to be considered – Lelouch had proven himself time and time again to be more than capable of filling the role of their strategist-commander by his lonesome.

Lelouch was willing to concede to the fact that filling that role was rather difficult when he put his own problems before that of his country, but he swore that this would be the last time. The threat of the Geass had passed, leaving only the physical aspect of this quest left for him. Bringing the former Prime Minister, Schneizel El Britannia to kneel and forcing the abdication of the 98th Emperor were now his only priorities, and fulfilling his oaths to do so now stood at the forefront of his mind.

"Will we be continuing the attack against Britannia?" Suzaku asked. It would have been a stupid question in most circumstances, but with an enemy on both sides one could never be too sure what the next move was to be. And with enemies as smart as the ones they had, staying on their toes and watching both like a hawk was not so much an advisable necessity as it was a rule of survival.

Lelouch shook his head, "No," and continued pacing. The tension in the air was thick, malevolence all but pouring from Lelouch's body. He knew C.C. would be coming through the Thought Elevator soon, and he counted on still being there to capture her again. "If Schneizel is left alone," he continued, voice deathly even while it exuded the evil his mind was clouded with, "we will regret it. Taking El Alamein and Gibraltar are necessary to make sure he does not pose a problem."

Suzaku nodded, far beyond the point of being surprised by the way Lelouch's mind worked. It was like trying to understand quantum physics – although such a venture was probably possible for Lelouch, who used intelligence as a lifeblood that he was reluctant to apply academically. Some would go so far as to say that it was possible to go mad trying to understand Lelouch's mind, and Lelouch liked it that way. The harder it was to think like him, the harder it was for people, friend and foe alike, to see his moves before they were made.

"What about Britannia?" he asked, however, because it wouldn't have made sense for him to have not asked. It simply wasn't Suzaku to leave anything unanswered.

"I told you before," Lelouch replied, smiling crookedly, "that you would be leading our forces into the Middle East. Jeremiah will fortify and defend our base at California, and I will work on pacifying Japan."

Again Suzaku nodded, though this time any thought was halted as the sigil on the Thought Elevator began to shine brightly, C.C. reappearing in front of it. She raised an eyebrow at both of them but said nothing, which only infuriated Lelouch all the more.

"What will you do now?" he growled, narrowing his eyes in a manner most unlike him, or at least he thought so. "You cannot die."

Again C.C. said nothing, which was all Lelouch needed to snap. He glared at her heatedly, raising his left hand to face her, the sigil on his palm shining until it matched the anger reflected in his narrowed eyes. The power that surged from him was palpable, malevolent, and suddenly C.C. was clutching her head and screaming collapsing onto her hands and knees. Suzaku stared at him, awestruck, but did not comment on what he was doing.

"Living a life of torment, of loneliness, of solitude... that is what brought us together, wasn't it?" Lelouch cried. He lowered his hand, and despite that the screaming continued, C.C.'s mind flashing with the many painful memories of both her life and his that he had projected to her. "And yet, you decided to betray the only companionship either of us had. It is only right that I repay the favor."

On some heavily subdued level, Lelouch actually felt some remorse for putting C.C. through such torture, but it was much too subtle for him to care. He had long believed in the right to strike back at those who had wronged him; his father, now his mother and C.C. as well. That was what this was, after all... striking back at a woman who had played with the nearly nonexistent yet still very fragile strings of his emotions, twisting them around her beautiful little finger and tugging at them until he finally disentangled them. She deserved every bit of the torment he was putting her through.

Lelouch turned to look at Suzaku who, though he tried his hardest, was unable to hide his emotions from Lelouch. This new change frightened him, and he hated it – he hated what had become of his best friend. But that was alright. He no longer trusted in companionship, and while he would continue to find a valuable ally in Suzaku, looking to him for any real support was something he could no longer afford. Nunnally was the only person he could still trust, and she despised his actions enough to be unwilling to listen anyway.

"Take her," Lelouch commanded, nodding toward C.C.'s prone form.

"But..." Suzaku murmured, looking down at C.C. before meeting Lelouch's gaze again. The hard stare Lelouch was giving him, however, left nothing to be questioned. "... Yes, Your Highness."

o---o

"Panzer-Hummel Squad Four dropped!"

All according to plan. Next...

"They have entered battle with enemy KMFs in sectors C-4 and B-5! Sutherlands, Gloucesters... and Gekkas!"

Of course. Middle of the Thar Desert or not, Lelouch would not leave an important location like Jaisalmer unprotected. But that was to be expected; it was how strong the defenses were that had been left unknown. Lelouch's security against spy networks was top notch, like everything else about his rule. But Kanon could work with that. More importantly, he had to work with it; their precarious positions at Tel Aviv and Haifa would be threatened by both Britannia and the United States if he failed. Also, Jaisalmer would serve to be an advantageous location both in protecting their position in the Middle East and in advancing into India.

Ah, the beauty there was in a righteous war. Not a war of vengeance, like the one Lelouch fought. There was no honor in that.

"Move Squads Three and Four of the Autonomous KMF Corps into position," Kanon ordered, once again employing his colored cones as visual representations of the armies' movements. This time, the stakes were far higher than they had been before, and such a thing almost seemed childish. But as the close confidant of His Highness, Kanon could handle being seen as childish. After all, people close to Schneizel had to be strange by definition – he and Lloyd had no trouble being associated with the term 'strange'.

True to his orders, the outskirts of the city were soon surrounded by Sutherlands and Gloucesters numbering well over one hundred, all armed with the lances typically used solely by the Gloucester. The sandy, simmering roads of Jaisalmar were similarly swarming with Panzer-Hummel, though they were not faring well against the vastly outnumbered but superior Sutherlands, Gloucesters and Gekkas they were fighting. And while they lacked the advances into pursuing the Lancelot's success like Britannia did, Kanon was confident that they had more than enough to work with.

It was no surprise, however, that theory and application were two very different things. While his visual display of the battle showed two cones moving in on the city, with the intent to bring a gloriously cone-filled victory, the battle itself was another matter. Outnumbered as they were, Lelouch's soldiers were not lacking for talent, holding their own all the same. Perhaps they were well trained soldiers, or maybe they were veterans from his conquests in China; whichever the case, the fact remained that they were holding up far better than he anticipated. In fact, he dared to note, they were driving his assault back.

With a barely held up veil of indifference – Kanon didn't typically do indifference; hiding emotions was a tasteless way to live, he thought – Kanon continued to watch from the safety of his G-1 Base, every so often transmitting images through to the Avalon, where Schneizel would be waiting to receive them while he worked on driving remnant Britannian forces from the region surrounding Haifa, a task that was far easier than one might assume. There was no expected good news to give to Schneizel, no images of United States forces being decimated with a ruthless hand. Rather, that aptly described the situation in reverse, and despite all odds the United States forces were proving very quickly just why they had been capable of pushing through any and all obstacles that had dared stand before their miraculous leader and his tactics.

"Forces in Sector A-5 are struggling!" another cry filled the tense air. Nobody replied to it, which wasn't unusual – replying to reports such as that would have been unusual, however. Kanon gritted his teeth, thinking as deeply as he could. Their foe wasn't even a noteworthy commander! He was some General brought in from India's army following it's agreement to join the United States, a man who held his own against China's forces but nothing more. By all rights, they should have been cowering into a corner of the city while his forces trounced them at every turn! That was how the battle was predicted to have gone, at any rate.

"Deploy reinforcement Panzer-Hummels!" Kanon commanded, moving a blue cone into the northern area of the city – the black box representing the city. He would not allow them to be so easily defeated, not when the battle had theoretically been their's before it began! Zero or not, Lelouch's invincibility would have to be shattered sometime. No man could win forever, and Lelouch was just a man. A man with intelligence that made just about any tactician to have lived in the past three centuries envious, perhaps, but a man all the same. There was nothing invincible about an arrogant man with a quick wit.

That belief quickly became the only thing keeping him on the sane side of insane – simply saying it kept him from going insane didn't have enough flare for his liking – as the battle went through highs and lows nobody had anticipated. Initially the reinforcements served to do little, but over time they, along with the main body of their forces, had begun turning the tide. At first it was little things, like taking proper cover and adequately protecting themselves while the two sides exchanged blows, but eventually the inferior number of the United States forces began to take it's toll on their performance.

"... Um, Sir..."

Of course, this was Lelouch. And that, by a definition much like 'strange' defined Kanon, meant that things had to be unnecessarily difficult. It just wouldn't be right any other way. This was a fact that was present in any and all battles involving Lelouch, either directly or indirectly. And this time, his refusal to admit defeat came in the form of a frantic report, stuttering something along the lines of, "The G-g-guren! The Guren!" repeated over and over... followed by an entire group of Panzer-Hummel being lost in less than ten seconds as the red Frame dove at their own forces, claw arm loosing a blast of it's Fukushahado energy while it dodged all attempts to strike it with an ease that wasn't entirely human.

Now, unnecessary difficulty didn't exactly explain this development, Kanon realized. It had been just two days since they received word that Britannia's legendary defenses at the California base had been struck down by the Anti-Britannian Front, and the Guren had been responsible for much of the damage. For the Guren to already have been dispatched to this region meant that Lelouch had planned beforehand, which meant...

He'd known of the attack all along. Either he had a spy, which wasn't likely, or he had a very good sense of intuition. Kanon gritted his teeth as actual anger began to build inside of him. How dare Lelouch toy with him, toy with His Highness, like this! But if playing a game of outsmarting one another was what Lelouch wanted to play, even unknowingly, Kanon was willing to play. Perhaps he could not outsmart Lelouch himself, but he was confident he could outsmart Lelouch's attempt to outsmart them.

"This is no longer a one-sided battle!" he called out to any who happened to be listening, adjusting his military uniform – a blue suit with golden lines along the shoulders and arms, golden buttons lining the chest, and very tight white pants – to more comfortably fit him. "Squads Two and Five of the Autonomous KMF Corps will keep the Guren at bay! The rest, work on wiping out the enemy forces!"

Yes... this was a game. This was a battle for the future of His Highness' dreams, of course, but it was also a game. Lelouch would taste defeat, and Kanon would be the one to give it to him. No matter how far he had to go, no matter how many men had to be expended for the job to be completed, Lelouch would taste dirt. Already, Kanon could feel the satisfaction of seeing Lelouch deprived to such a state. Ah yes, such a victory would be most rewarding.

o---o

There was something about the way His Majesty carried himself that morning, the way his powdered wig-like hair billowed while his cape, the source of much of his imposing size, remained close against his body as he approached the throne. His face was blank and set with the confidence one could come to expect of His Majesty, but there was an underlying sadness that surprised the present nobility no matter how much they expected it.

After all, but two days ago they had lost not only an important base at California, but also the esteemed Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein. When His Majesty had taken the throne, Bismarck had been there to swear his undying loyalty, and when the Knights of the Round had been formed a decade later, Bismarck was chosen immediately to serve as it's first ranking knight. It was no stretch to say that His Majesty held the Knight of One in higher regard than he did his own children, and Bismarck's place in his heart had been surpassed only by the Lord Vortigem Di Britannia, whom had unfortunately disappeared not long after His Majesty had pacified Britannia.

It could also be said that His Majesty's resolve was born from the same thing that the Black Prince's was, although the Black Prince had not yet risen to power when the desire to see his vision realized had driven him to insanity. Though it was under vastly different circumstances, both were driven greatly by their losses and the desire to protect what they had, though neither would ever admit to such a thing. No, both would say they had visions and that was to be the sole reason, but anybody with a critical eye could see that they were torn by their losses and clung desperately to what they had left.

Neither were nearly as simple as that suggested, however. While few amongst the nobility could claim they knew the Black Prince in the slightest – a memory of a ten year old boy with a loving mother and a sister whom his entire world revolved around hardly counted in that regard – they did know His Majesty. He was as hard to predict as they came, with a ruthless hand for those beyond the borders of his great empire and a gentle hand that promised salvation to any who abided by his laws. So long as there was conflict for the sake of self-advancement, His Majesty could find no possible wrong in the world.

Conversely, the Black Prince seemed to be molding the United States into Britannia's anti-thesis. Where Britannia facilitated conflict, the United States routinely sent out scouting parties to ensure the people were at peace. Where Britannia constantly sought to expand it's borders, the United States formed a strong defense and struck back. Every time there was word of a rebellion, it would be targetting either Britannia or the newly formed Federation of Europe; never had the United States faced rebellion except for the Minor Kyoto Rebellion, and even then the Black Prince had made a slight to his honor a motivating factor in expanding his influence.

This all came down to one thing: strange. His Majesty and the Black Prince, of the same blood and yet as different as Yin and Yang, were to eternally be enemies. There could be no peace with both on the same Earth. And really, this should have delighted His Majesty. A showdown in which his own worth was put to the test, where he could show to the world that not even the Man of Miracles, Zero, could contest him. And yet he sat on the throne, shoulders slouched and his vision the epitome of broken. Really, not even Lord Bismarck's death should have been enough to destroy his mood.

"Your Majesty..." Amongst the nobility, there was an unspoken rule that all followed without question, for fear of their lives: never, ever speak to His Majesty until he has spoken, lest you suffer his wrath. But the recently appointed Viscount York County, Lord Sheadon Valmont, had not adequite time with which to be taught these obvious yet unspoken rules. And thus, a collective gasp followed his unofficial faux pas, as though he had just drawn a sword in the presence of His Majesty. To many, what he'd just done was equally as mortifying.

The same nobles who were counting the seconds until the young Viscount York County met his end gaped in shock when His Majesty nodded in his direction, saying as he waved his hand in a hurrying manner, "Speak."

"Your Majesty," Sheadon said gratefully, moving to stand in the middle of the many rows of nobles, bowing low. "The civilian uprising in York County has grown stronger as of late. With our defeat at the California base," he paused briefly, gauging the reaction His Majesty displayed, though there was no visible change in his demeanor, "the rebels have grown all the more bold, making open displays in the streets and razing our governmental offices. Yesterday alone we captured over three hundred operatives."

"Hmm," His Majesty hummed, leaning back in his seat and properly adjusting his flowing cape so that it wasn't beneath him as he sat. "Go on."

"The PMC in the York County area have found moderate success in targeting rebel hideouts throughout Lackey and Yorktown, but as a whole we have run into difficulties." He sighed, pacing back and forth between the Duke of Exeter and Her Highness, Guinevere U Britannia. "If no proper effort to expel the rebels is made, I fear the entire stability of our hold on the area may be uprooted."

Again His Majesty surprised those assembled as he nodded slowly, simply stating, "I see," rather than making any condescending retort about how Lord Sheadon Valmont was weak and that he was incapable of performing such a simple task as securing the small land he'd been assigned to watch over. In the past, several had been removed from their positions in the nobility for such a thing, replaced with either relatives or somebody else altogether. With His Majesty Charles Di Britannia, being of the nobility did nothing to secure your position in life. In fact, being so close to the Emperor made it all the more fragile.

"May I suggest, father, that we deploy forces to the region to uproot the rebellion ourselves?" The speaker was Odysseus U Britannia, the eldest son of His Majesty and, if only by official standing, the Crown Prince of Britannia. His large body was a telltale sign of whom had fathered him, though beyond that and his surprisingly quick wit there was nothing that properly associated himself with His Majesty. His broad shoulders belied his status as a surprisingly serene and calm man, with short brown hair and the beginnings of a beard of the same color. His blue eyes were soft, with no underlying flame that suggested he was of the violent sort, like so many of His Majesty's children were. The Black Prince and the former Prime Minister were fine examples of what Odysseus U Britannia was not.

His Majesty sat up fully, tall in his chair and every bit as imposing as he ought to be at all times. "And why would we do that?"

Odysseus flinched visibly, though he managed to keep his face straight – yet another of the rare traits he had inherited from his father, and one of the many reasons he was admired amongst the nobility despite not having the military prowess that many of his siblings had. "An empire cannot thrive when danger threatens it from within, father. Moreover, Schneizel has crossed through to the Thar Desert, where his forces now hound Lelouch's at every turn. I suggest we take this opportunity to secure our position, so that we may meet both with the whole of our strength when the time comes."

It wasn't uncommon for long silences to follow any suggestion, regardless of how minor. His Majesty was not one to accept suggestions without giving them due thought, and when he did accept a suggestion it was because he himself saw the merit in such a course. But for such a tense silence to follow, where it was clear that His Majesty wasn't even really thinking about the suggestion at hand, it was more than a little surprising. Odysseus didn't seem concerned by it – any trace of a timid man that would have been visible months ago had disappeared, likely on account of some revelation concerning the fact that two of his half-siblings were involved in a feud that could easily determine the fate of the world in it's entirety for a long time to come – and waiting calmly, arms folded behind his back and shoulders squared, looking like the vision of composure that everybody saw in his father.

"Bollocks!" Sheadon cried, striding forward with a purposeful step, the ornamental plume on his headdress swaying to and fro behind him. "With all due respect Your Highness, Your Majesty, my forces are more than capable of dealing with this minor insurgence!" He turned to Odysseus, standing in place along the isle of the first row, with several of his siblings lined to his right, and bowed. "Your Highness, we should be worrying about retaking our naval base at California and reassuring our position in the Middle East, not expending supplies and troops dealing with trifling issues like rebellions!"

Odysseus blinked, appearing to consider what had been said for the briefest of moments. His Majesty remained impassive, watching the exchange like an overseer would, looking down upon them with a condescending glint in his eyes, as was his wont. "Viscount, I do not think reclaiming our territories is of the utmost importance right now. No, with Lelouch and Schneizel at eachother's throats, we ought to focus our efforts on securing our position. Putting even more of the world into conflict would not benefit us any longer; the world has moved on from the days where our movements dictated those of the rest of the world."

His Majesty stood suddenly, his cape billowing out behind him with a flourish. He stood to the side of the throne and, with a beckoning hand, gestured for Odysseus to approach. He did so cautiously, moving until he stood face to face with his father. At full height, His Majesty stood only three inches taller than Odysseus, but those three inches alone made all the difference in his imposing status. "Sit," he commanded, gesturing to the throne with his hand. Another collective gasp resounded through the high ceilinged building as soon as the word had left his mouth, though he payed those present no mind. "I will leave for a while," he continued, turning to leave while he grasped at his cape, keeping it from flowing out behind him. "Rule in my place."

But Odysseus did not sit. No, he didn't rule in His Majesty's place. That damned, wretched stunned silence did. Nobody so much as blinked as His Majesty strode out through one of the large doors only he was allowed to use, gesturing with a roll of his shoulders for the soldiers standing in place to open them as he approached. Odysseus seemed stunned most of all, turning to run after his father at the latest moment, but the doors closed behind him as if he hadn't heard his son at all. With no other choice, Odysseus hung his head and turned, returning to the throne and taking his seat.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, of course. Many times had His Majesty disappeared with nothing more than a word, leaving somebody or another on the throne in his place. Usually it had been Schneizel, which had long led to the belief that His Highness' bid for the throne would lead to him attempting, at worse, a coup d'etat. As Odysseus took his place on the throne, there could only be one coherent thought in the minds of those left behind.

How long would His Majesty be gone this time? And, when he returned, what would be left of the throne to which he belonged?

o---o

Karen gritted her teeth, moving to the side as again a slash harken threatened to slam into her side. They... were... everywhere! For every Frame she destroyed, two – sometimes three – moved to take it's place. She flung out her slash harken, catching one of the many Sutherland surrounding her by the head and destroying it. Her head swam as she smoothly brought the Guren into a backflip, dodging two slash harkens that then moved past her on either side, striking through eachother's Frame and destroying eachother.

"Get out of my way!" she cried, firing a wave a Fukushahado radiation from her claw arm, spinning in a circle so as to hit everything in the wave's path. There were comrades to save, and a city to protect! And worst of all, she knew it was still going to get worse. She wanted to believe that this was something Lelouch had not accounted for, that the sheer strength of the enemy assault had not been properly predicted. But the fact of the matter was that it was far too unlike Lelouch to do something like that. Arrogant to a fault he may be, but Lelouch did not make common errors like that – it would be a sin to him, she was sure. But that meant he was risking all these lives on some gambit he had come up with, or worse, had simply anticipated that regardless of how many lives were lost that she would be able to pull through.

Like hell she would! Already she had been forced to replace her battery twice, and it was nearing the time where she would need to retreat for a third. She didn't need to exercise her authority to get these benefits – the commanding officers were willing to give her whatever she wanted because, no matter how one looked at it, she was the only reason they were still alive. But during those windows where she wasn't there, demolishing every KMF that stood in her way, the situation got that much worse. Before long, she feared it would turn into a brave one-man showdown of the Guren against their entire army. That would not be pleasant for either side.

Karen ignored despairing thoughts such as those while she swept forward, smoothly dodging a swing from the Sutherland's lance and kicked away the rifle that rested at it's side, bringing her claw arm up to clamp onto the side of his head. As she always did, she glanced away while she pressed the button that sent radiation energy surging through her arm, boiling the Sutherland until it's metal began to form an odd shape, almost bubbling, and then exploded. On some level, she envisioned the same fate befalling the pilot within. And no matter how accustomed she was to killing – when it was people she felt deserved it, she dared say she didn't mind killing – she could never come to accept the greusome fate the Guren was capable of bringing down upon it's foes.

She took to the air, looking around for any sign of combat in the surrounding area. The bulk of their remaining forces were locked down near the governmental offices, taking cover while trying to halt the advance of wave after wave of Panzer-Hummel. Several of their men were near the edge of the city, using a building as their only defense from being surrounded by several Gloucester and no less than twenty Sutherland. Her decision made, Karen landed herself atop one of the roofs of the many buildings throughout the city, leaping from roof to roof until she loomed over her allies like a superhero hiding in the shadows, out of sight but watching over them all the while.

One of her screens was warning her that her battery was at it's limit. Ten minutes, and the Guren would be out of power. That was enough time to save her allies, but was it enough to save herself? That didn't matter at the moment. Her resolve set, she leaped down just in time to throw up her claw arm, using her Fukushahado not as a weapon but as a shield, halting the bullets that otherwise would have just taken out her allies.

The Sutherland before her halted when they saw her, but she payed them no mind. In the blink of an eye the shield-like use of the Fukushahado had shifted into a loosed wave of energy, destroying them plus the many that were likely waiting behind them. Her landspinners flung out behind her feet as she turned, lunging forward as she spotted a Gloucester closing in on her allies, removing it's lance from it's hands before launching a slash harken through it's chest, destroying it instantly. Her head spun from all of the movement, a sort of nausea that could only be associated with prolonged use of the Guren overtaking her, much like riding a roller-coaster for the first time. She managed to resist the bodily urges that normally would have overtaken somebody in such a position, finding the strength to use her claw arm as a weapon, using it's sharp claws to cleave through another Sutherland as it neared.

"Get out of here!" Karen cried, slamming the slash harken in her right arm through another Sutherland and clearing the way for her allies. The road ahead, or at least her radar said, would lead them straight to the governmental offices, where they could join up with their allies and lend a hand on that front. As they passed by, giving her words of gratitude in passing, Karen turned to bar the road as KMFs filed in to give chase. This many she could handle no problem, but using the Fukushahado wave had severely damaged the remaining energy in her battery. Four minutes, no access to the Fukushahado – without risking running out of power prematurely, at any rate... She could still do this. Or at least, she hoped so.

Four minutes. Karen lunged forward, dodging around a lance thrust and destroying the offending Gloucester with a slash harken. Rather than letting it return to her she propelled forward to meet the end of her slash harken, turning and clawing into a Sutherland with her claw arm. Her other slash harken launched out at another Sutherland while she held her ground, letting the superior shielding of the Guren take the bullets fired her way.

Three minutes. She could see more KMFs nearing her, but the bottlenecked road allowed her to take the newcomers in stride, still weaving her way through their ranks while using her slash harkens and claw arm as her weapons of choice. The shielding of the Guren was wearing thin but she payed it no mind; it could hold out against this level of firepower for a while yet, and she was not about to retreat and let her allies be attacked from two sides.

Two minutes. Karen had begun to understand how Xingke felt, making a brave stand that would make him go down in history as a valiant warrior to the end. Her movements were slowed slightly on account of the lack of power remaining, but she still managed to drill into another Sutherland with her slash harken before she backpedaled, throwing both of her arms up as a makeshift shield against the rain of bullets coming her way. She knew her end here wasn't a predetermined certainty, but the odds of her going down were still...

"Karen!" She heard her name called desperately, and then the Lancelot landed in front of her, already drawing it's MVS and charging at the foes in front of it. And then she was being picked up, the black and yellow arms of the Gawain visible on either side of her as she was lifted off the ground. Despite her protests - "Put me down, Lelouch!" and, "I could have taken care of it!" - she knew they saw through her charade. And perhaps, she realized as the Guren's energy finally ran short, this was what Lelouch had been waiting for. He knew his allies could last because he would be coming to put his neck on the line for them. At least, she wanted to believe that – and in her exhaustion induced stupor, she faded from consciousness believing just that.

o---o

"Where are you taking her?" Suzaku asked casually, slicing through another Sutherland with ease. There had been many of them, more than Karen reasonably should have been fighting on her own, but Suzaku knew her stubborn nature well enough to not hold it against her. She was fiercely loyal to her allies as well, and Suzaku was not so blind as not to see what would have happened to their main force had she not stood guard here. Her bravery and sheer will ought to have been commended, but there simply wasn't time.

"Back to the offices," Lelouch replied gruffly; he above all knew that he shouldn't have been savagely slaughtering the enemy ranks, but that didn't stop him from openly admitting to Suzaku that he had wanted to do just that. "Don't worry, she won't be coming back out to fight."

Suzaku nodded, not even pretending to be surprised that Lelouch had anticipated his distrust. Surely he knew the effect his recent actions had on his friend, and Suzaku figured that Lelouch simply had no interest in addressing that distrust. Instead, he focused himself on cleaving his way through the many KMFs before him, one explosion after another until his immediate vision was more often than not blinded by the high rising fires of a detonating Frame. So long as Lelouch kept his morals intact, Suzaku could work his way beyond the occasionally inhumane things his friend did. Some dark side of Lelouch was just like that, after all; it was part of the Lelouch Lamperouge/Lelouch Vi Britannia/Zero package.

The problem in the present scenario came not from the fact that Suzaku had been left alone to deal with a quickly replenishing force that was probably no smaller in size than what Karen had been facing, but rather from the fact that a force that big didn't have any forseeable end to it. Bringing down his Hadron blaster, Suzaku swiftly took aim before letting the massive stream of energy tear it's way through the enemy ranks like butter.

"There are too many, Lelouch!" Suzaku cried, growing steadily aware of the fact that his radar was warning him of more signals approaching his position, and in far greater numbers than he would have liked. Some part of him wanted to wonder whether or not these many casualties were something Schneizel could afford, but he didn't dwell on it for long – no matter how much there were, he would not simply allow them to turn Jaisalmer into another one of their desolated, poverty-stricken territories. The people were counting on him to protect them, even at the cost of turning the streets outside their homes into a battleground.

Lelouch's voice on their private channel was low, almost growling, as he said, "You have to live, Suzaku." Chills ran down Suzaku's spine while he nodded, charging once again into the fray, both swords swinging. "That is an order, Suzaku. Live!"

Were they speaking face to face and if Lelouch still had the Geass, Suzaku was certain he'd now be a slave to his imprinted desire to live. Even without such a Geass though, the need to live for Lelouch's sake was strong. He dodged around lance thrusts and slash harkens, never once stopping in the swinging of his swords. Occasionally he would pause long enough to let the MSV shields take in a torrent of bullets or block a weapon that otherwise would have caused him some minuscule harm, but even then his swords were only idle in his hands for five seconds or less.

o---o

Suzaku Kururugi... He was an interesting man. Lelouch had discovered this long ago, when he'd first seen his friend's inhuman ability to pilot the Lancelot, but Suzaku had never once given him reason to believe otherwise. He was a pilot that surpassed all others, save for maybe Karen, and with the insurmountable strength of the Lancelot, he was more than deserving of the aptly given title Black Knight.

More than an enigmatic warrior, he was also an equally interesting friend. Even in their current falling out, he was fiercly loyal to him, taking his word as law even when Lelouch suspected he'd mutiny. After all, Suzaku's loyalty had been so easily shaken as to betray Britannia in the first place, and a small part of Lelouch would always be wary of this fact coming back around and hitting him hard. But Suzaku had given him no reason to be distrusted, and so Lelouch continued to put his faith in the greatest of their aces.

He set the Guren down near the governmental offices, tall and a pure white that strongly contrasted the desert-like surroundings, where already mechanics were waiting to replace the Guren's battery. As he turned about to join the forces holed up nearby, the thought crossed his mind that Suzaku may benefit more from his aid. ... No, that would not do. Suzaku could at least hold out until he broke the desperate battle taking place near the offices. Panzer-Hummel were being destroyed one after the other, but their charge toward the offices was hardly being slowed. There were simply too many to hold off for much longer.

"All forces," he called, his voice drawling with a commanding aura even to his own ears, "break into two groups and move to attack the enemy from behind." Meanwhile, he landed along the main road toward the governmental offices where many of the enemy Panzer-Hummel were moving, with Trikuta Hill and the Jaisalmer Fort to his back, overlooking him. There several KMFs were posted with sniper rifles, but their usefulness was likely dulled by his appearance.

Lelouch struck out his arms, the golden yellow fingers of the Gawain pointing forward as the Panzer-Hummel neared. Their every effort to do him harm bounced harmlessly off the massive MSV shield that encompassed his entire body, and they could do little to prepare themselves as a slash harken launched from all ten of his fingers, each embedding in a different Panzer-Hummel. Rather than pushing the weapons all the way through, he swung the caught Frames about, slamming them into their comrades and causing even more destruction as his fingers retracted. The walls of the buildings on either side of them remained largely unscathed, but there was visible damage – falling of bricks, mostly – done to the exteriors.

The Panzer-Hummel ranks were undaunted by this however, moving at the same pace they had been before, firing whatever weapons they could at him; rounds from the machine guns, missiles from the cannons on their arms and slash harkens all flew at him from all sides, slamming into his massive shielding. Though no damage was actually done, the force alone of the many assaults were enough to force him to dig in his heels to prevent being driven back. His slash harkens flew one after the other, one firing while another retracted, allowing there to never be a moment where the enemy was free from one of his slash harkens. It was a risky approach at best, but it allowed for a better defense, which Lelouch felt he needed at that moment.

Just a little longer, though... The forces he had sent to move around were nearing their position, using chaff smoking to remain undetected by the enemy sensors. Surely the enemy had some idea what his strategy was, but with their attention so wholly on him, them knowing or not was relatively meaningless. They would be caught in a pincer before long regardless.

Suddenly the Panzer-Hummel halted, a stray missile continuing on it's path and slamming into his shielding, shaking the cockpit violently. Lelouch gritted his teeth and launched all ten of his slash harkens again, the wired anchors slamming into the chests of ten different Panzer-Hummels and destroying them instantly. Lelouch was never more thankful than he was at that moment that the Gawain required very little actual piloting skill; the sheer destructive strength of the Gawain made it his ideal Frame, and it's lack of mobility was hardly a problem with it's status as one of their unique flight-capable KMFs.

The lack of movement from the enemy was not something that required Lelouch's level of intellect to find out – whoever was in command was surely one of Schneizel's better leaders, to have been able to so perfectly nullify the, admittedly half-hearted, tactic he had come up with. "Take cover and fire when you see an opening!" he ordered, and as soon as they did he fired both of his Hadron cannons, letting the streams of red and black energy break through the enemy ranks with ease. In their wake were less than ten Panzer-Hummel, all grouping together in a desperate attempt to keep from being wiped out.

A small part of Lelouch – the usually larger part that fought with his mind rather than his emotions – felt that he was going a little overboard with his fighting, but he decided not to think anything of it. At the moment, all he cared about was repelling the enemy attack, and the lingering anger of the past few days demanded to be used. He charged forward, the ranks of Panzer-Hummel parting around him, until he was standing in the middle of the road with the Panzer-Hummel surrounding him. Then, with one finger pointing at each Panzer-Hummel, he launched his slash harkens.

Watching the explosions all around him, he felt a multitude of things. He felt satisfied. He felt like he'd done a good deed. And he felt disgusted. What was wrong with him, taking pleasure in such a ruthless action? This wasn't like his fighting before; this could not be justified as a necessary course of action, one that he would have to make whether he liked it or not. No, there was another way... he simply wanted self-satisfaction.

War does indeed change people. And Lelouch, for the first time, truly gave thought to that.

o---o

Being a sovereign, while just as important as being a commander was, in a word, troublesome.

Try as he might, Lelouch never could find himself enjoying the monotony of sitting in place, listening to various different things and giving his own opinion while accepting those of others. Perhaps it was a fault of his, but he always felt that things worked best when they went his way, and acceding to the demands of others altered his own vision, however slightly.

Like today, for example. Much of Cornelia's court had been adopted into his own when the Viceroy's Palace was made the administrative capital of the United States, and while they were adept at what they did and were not overtly greedy, they simply did not connect with Lelouch. There were demands to expand the Tokyo Settlement to accommodate for the recent influx of immigrants, requests that they lessen their focus on Knightmare Frame production and instead focus more on rebuilding Japan from it's decaying state, suffering as it was from nearly a decade of warfare.

And these were, no matter how he looked at it, good suggestions. As far as he was concerned, he was relatively glad that he had advisors that cared for more than their own gain – they cared for making Japan better. But this was to be at the expense of their ability to wage war, and with the world as it was, warfare was necessary. Peace could not truly reign with things as they were.

"But Your Highness, if we do not rebuild the Gifu Settlement, we won't be able to reform central Japan at all!"

Lelouch nodded absently, but he couldn't really deny the truth of those words – he never could, but all the same he hardly wanted to address them. Without really addressing the issue, he turned to the speaker – a man of little more than five feet, with long blonde hair and shimmering green eyes, wearing the regal clothing that was to be expected of Britannian nobility; the former head of House Amherst, Garth Amherst – and stared at him intently, wondering if there truly was an underlying greed to the man that was simply being very well hidden. One could never trust the motives of a noble whom had been forced from his home, after all, although according to Cornelia Garth had come willingly. "What about expanding the Tokyo Settlement? And with Lord Kururugi trying to break through the enemy position along the Congo River, we have very few funds that are not being expended keeping the main army supplied."

Garth flipped his hair over his shoulder, remaining strictly serious even when doing something so casual and dismissive. "We are drawing in funds and supplies from almost one third of the world, Your Highness. Surely we can spare funds to make living conditions for the people better."

Lelouch started, staring down Garth for a moment to judge the genuinity in those words. Either this man was genuinely concerned about the people, or he knew just the right way to hit him – Lelouch, for all of his recently cold-hearted actions, could not hurt the people. The people, especially those whom had lived under Britannia's rule as Numbers, had a special place in his heart as kindred spirits.

"I see..." Lelouch murmured, considering the idea with a thoughtful expression. "Very well. Lord Haliburton will oversee the reconstruction and defense of the Gifu Settlement."

"Lord Haliburton?" Garth was legitimately surprised by this, and for good reason – with the loss of the Blue Knight and the other Knights being dispatched to their different frontlines, only the Gold Knight had remained in the Tokyo Settlement. "But if he goes, we..."

"Cornelia has returned from California, and the Royal Knights are on standby, as are our standing forces," Lelouch cut him off, throwing his head back to rest against the comfortable chair. "And Britannia is fighting off the various insurgents rising to power throughout their territory; the Numbers are in an uproar with Britannia's weakening, and they are trying to reclaim the many regions they have lost.

"The time is good for us to worry about our own internal security," Lelouch continued, though he didn't really believe that; their funds were still better spent ensuring that their troops were not lacking for supplies. That, more than properly colonizing Japan, he felt was of the utmost importance. "If we send Lord Haliburton himself, we can make sure the position is defended. As it stands, it and Kyoto are both very prominent outposts here in Japan." But now that the thought was on his mind, Lelouch found he could not deny the necessity to make sure the people were not lacking. Already China was well on the way to repairing the damage done to it while the High Eunuchs had held power, and Africa was thriving more than ever now that it had a stable economy, which left Japan as the only land in the United States not yet tended to.

There was also a historical significance to the Gifu area that, although privately, Lelouch intended to make use of. It had been the powerful stronghold that was conquered and turned into a grand castle unlike any other several hundred years ago, when the warlord Nobunaga Oda had brazenly marched toward Kyoto and taken control of the country's government. As one of the most notable historical figures in Japan, his memory was a boon to Lelouch's efforts to reform Japan. An ironic boon at that, Lelouch thought, considering the resemblance of their respective campaigns, despite being on entirely different scales. That, and Nobunaga openly exercised cruelty and brutality on more than one occasion, which was an evil Lelouch had yet to acquaint himself with. And hopefully never would.

"... Very well then," Garth said despondently, but he didn't seem to actually disagree with the suggestion. In fact, rebuilding the Gifu Settlement was an advantage in many ways, least of which being it's historical significance and it's stance as a potentially powerful military base. "If that is settled, we ---"

All movement came to a halt, words left half-formed as a massive shaking seemed to rock the very earth beneath them. It was not an earthquake, if only for the fact that it was doing no harm to the building itself or the many paintings hanging on the walls, all of Clovis' design. Lelouch dreaded to know what the cause of such a thing was, but the larger part of him knew that knowing would be better than ignorance. All the same, he couldn't resist the sinking feeling in his stomach that something bad was coming. Something very bad.

"Your Highness!" a soldier cried, bursting into the throne room so quickly he didn't take the time to bow. His uniform was that of the Black Knights rather than Cornelia's Royal Knights, with the Geass sigil on his chest. "That..."

"What is it?" Lelouch asked impatiently.

"That explosion..." Explosion? Lelouch raised an eyebrow, though he said nothing, waiting for the soldier to finish what he'd been saying. As the seconds ticked by, Lelouch could feel that sinking feeling building to a boiling point in his chest, bursting like a fountain when the soldier said, "... It was Ashford Academy, Your Highness."

o---o

Lelouch's feet were moving, even though his mind refused to keep up with it's own actions. He was going somewhere, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out where or why he was going there, and he didn't really care. He was trapped in a lifeless daze, his mind capable only of repeating the extent of that soldier's heart rending report.

"What was the extent of the damage?" he had asked but twenty minutes ago, his heart pounding in his chest as he clung to the hope that, somehow, the damage was not nearly as severe as he rightfully presumed it was. That was probably a mistake, he thought in reminiscence, to let himself be held up by something as fragile as hope.

The soldier's expression had turned grim, his eyes averting from Lelouch's own at that moment, and Lelouch knew. Without it being said, he knew what had happened. And his heart's pounding stopped suddenly, reduced to infrequent and soft beats meant only to keep him alive; his heart didn't dare serve any other purpose, lest he dare to hope again.

"The entire school was destroyed," he said, probably knowing how unnecessary it was to say so, but saying it anyway. "Lord Guilford ordered the Royal Knights to go search for survivors, but..."

"But?" Lelouch pressed, no longer caring for the safety of his nearly nonexistent heart. He had a feeling what was coming, but he wanted to hear it anyway, to dash any remnant desire to hope.

"Lady Nunnally's wheelchair..." the soldier murmured, blissfully unaware that His Highness was dying a little bit inside with every word spoken, "... Lord Guilford found it amidst the wreckage."

He had immediately stood then, declaring the meeting to be over and took his leave. He had been wandering ever since, replaying that conversation in his head again and again. He almost wanted to laugh, for all the good it would do him. Despite the inexorable pain within his chest, he felt he needed to laugh. Maybe because he had finally realized that, in this world, there were no such things as fair and unfair. His mother had been taken from him and his sister irreparably crippled, and so he had fought back against his father. And in turn, he had lost handfuls of comrades, now friends as well, and even his sister. The only person he still felt he could hold on to, even if she quivered slightly in fear everytime she heard his voice, even if she stuttered when she spoke, so nervous was she that her dear brother was a demon that would bestow upon her the same fate he had given to so many others. People who had deserved it, but nonetheless had been the judge of many a life.

It was then that he realized, on some level, where his legs were taking him. Back to where it had all began, to the one person he felt he could hang onto besides Nunnally. She had betrayed his trust and torn into his heart, but even then his heart clung to her memory like a homesick child, praying that the small comfort her presence could bring would reach out to him. Even if she had become an enemy in his eyes, his heart was willing to look beyond that for the sake of it's own survival. And Lelouch was powerless to disobey, forced to watch as his legs dragged him toward the cell that held her.

She was laying against the stone wall at the back of her small, eight foot by ten foot cell, garbed in the white one-piece he had found her in, the many straps lining it's front and it's arms wrapped around one another, binding her in such a way that Lelouch couldn't even identify. Her eyes were wide open, watching him like a frightened animal would it's predator, though there was no trace of such emotion on her face. Like his own, Lelouch was sure, her face was blank, and not of her own volition.

"What do you want?" she asked calmly. It wasn't patronizing or laced with suspicion – it was a casual question that demanded a casual answer, which was a better way to go about this than Lelouch could have hoped for. ... Hoped, he laughed afterwards, shaking his head at the absurdity of even thinking such a word. Hope was a sin as far as he was concerned, useless as it was to him. Hope did nothing but disappoint, contrary to the intent of such a thing.

His hands gripped the bars of her cell, parted just enough that he could fit the width of three of his fingers between them. The cell door was hard to find at first, as it looked the same as the rest of the bars and there was no discernible barrier that could be used to locate where it began and ended; the only way to locate it would be to find the lock and the handle that opened the door, which was harder than one would assume. His eyes found both after a cursory glance, and he put the key into the keyhole and turned, opening the door with his free hand.

"Let's talk," he replied evenly, but he couldn't keep a bit of desperation out of his voice. C.C. noticed it as well, raising an eyebrow as she stood, silently walking until she was on the other side of the bars, with the door being closed behind her.

"I could run away," C.C. stated, but it was easy to tell she wasn't serious. Not entirely serious, at least.

Lelouch nodded absently, turning around and walking, making sure he could hear her footsteps echoing his all the while. "I'll take my chances."

"Oh?" C.C. murmured, following him despite her taunts of doing otherwise. "You trust me, then?" she asked, and it took actual effort to keep himself from laughing at the somewhat hopeful tone she employed. He would have thought she'd seen the truth in hoping before now, but he didn't care enough to press the issue.

"No," he said obstinately, "but I know you." He continued his walking, making his way back to his own room slowly, dismissing the thoughts of the empty bed in his room that had been untouched for many days. With as much nonchalance as he could muster, he said with a roll of his shoulders, "Nunnally is dead."

The footsteps following him stopped suddenly, and as he looked back he saw that his words had left the desired expression on C.C.'s face – surprise. Her eyebrows raised of their own volition, and she asked before she could think of anything else, "What happened?"

"Ashford was attacked," Lelouch replied carefully, taking great care to make sure his voice was leveled and devoid of emotion. "It was definitely a bombing of some kind, but we haven't found out who did it or why. Her wheelchair was found with the ruins of the academy."

"And so you came to me because you have nobody left?" C.C. asked. If Lelouch hadn't been so focused on keeping emotion out of his face, he was sure the surprise and the inevitable wince that would follow would have told her she hit the nail on the head. "What of your own plans?" she asked in spite of her own best efforts not to, curious as she was to discover the underlying thought to his coming to her.

Unfortunately for Lelouch, this had been a self-imposed impulse at best, with no pre-thought whatsoever that made for a scenario so unlike him that he didn't dare speak until he had formed a believable, logical reasoning that was both true – even if it was only to be a backhanded truth – and... reasonable. A high price no matter how one was to look at it, but Lelouch was confident in his ability to do so on demand. In fact, his mind, now back in full operational order, was already piecing together various elements of things he had learned of late to formulate a reasonable opinion and an underlying ideal to go with it.

"You and I will be the end of it all," Lelouch stated, more or less thinking as he went. "With us, Geass' curse will end. Geass will return to society through us, and we will live forever as it's sole survivors."

The facial expression he received in kind was one of disbelief, incredulity and, more surprisingly, amazement. "You would accept such a fate, knowing now that Geass does to you?"

Lelouch nodded, reaching forward to take her hand before she could pull it away. "We are partners. If this world will take everything else away from us, we will stick together and make sure it can't do that to anybody else."

* * *

Contrary to what my profile said, I did manage to salvage enough battery power on my laptop to recover the rest of my work for this fic, so it didn't fall into the unconditional hiatus the rest of my work has. On the other hand, because this was all I had to work on, I am starting to think that I'm working a little bit too fast for my own liking; not that I'm fishing for reviews, but the past two chapters have yielded so few that I'm beginning to think interest in this is, ironically enough, dwindling now that I'm actively working on it again. I don't really mind either way because I'll finish it regardless for the people that do read it, but it certainly helps when I have proper feedback to work with – not that you should feel obligated, or anything.


	27. Mosaic Pieces

The last scene of last chapter didn't sit well with me. I think it may just have been the interaction between Lelouch and C.C., but something about it just didn't feel right. That actually gave me a fair bit of trouble, and I went back several times and rewrote it before I simply gave up and left it as is. Perhaps I'm just overthinking?

And while we're talking about things I'm unsure of, this chapter has a fair bit of stuff that could technically be considered unnecessary content, namely everything involving Suzaku, with some exception. But I decided to include it to give a view of that rather than limiting it to what is being told to Lelouch of what is happening, which is worse as far as I'm concerned. This is the last battle that could be considered unnecessary, though; the rest are decisive fights Code Geass is known for.

But enough of that. Reviews require my attention too, after all.

While I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of reviews I got (even if it was at the risk of sounding like I was fishing for them), I can't help but feel insulted that I'd be compared to Sunrise and it's general likeness for resurrecting random characters on a whim. While I cannot deny doing that, I will have you know it was a one time thing and I will not be making a habit of doing it, like Sunrise clearly has (damn Guilford; not that I dislike him, though). If at any time somebody dies, it is safe to assume they are dead. It's a pretty basic concept that Sunrise has made unnecessarily complicated, really.

To answer noian's question, it was not Fleya, Freija, F.L.E.I.J.A or any of the other half a dozen different translations given to the blasted warhead – no pun intended. I don't recall how far technology into the field of regular explosives had progressed in the Code Geass universe, but in terms of relative strength it could be best compared to the USA's MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, Mother of All Bombs, whatever you want to call it). Honestly, that was not all that relative a factor in that event, and I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to it.

But since that was brought up, I will stress again: **Technology in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 will, by general rule, not be present in this fic**. This means no F.L.E.I.J.A, no Damocles, no breaking the speed of freaking sound with a random float system variant, nothing. Note that Bismarck and Luciano have both piloted Vincents; this is the standard KMF amongst the KotR, and virtually the extent of Britannia's upgrades in KMF technology. Wards may make a brief and limited appearance, but the fact remains that, in the scope of this fic, R2's technology didn't exist. The only reason Wards would make an appearance at all is to even the playing field, seeing as I've already brought in the Akatsukis. Otherwise, I shall repeat one final time for good measure, that technology will not be present.

Sometimes, though, I wish the season as a whole didn't exist. Ah, the high hopes I had for the series at the end of season one...

* * *

This settled it. Whatever part of Lelouch it was that made commanding seem like such an easy thing, Suzaku had not been blessed with it. Sitting on board the Hogosha while everybody else was fighting below – Longdans along the water exchanging fire with several Britannian warships, KMFs lined along the waterfront providing cover fire, and VTOL units soaring through the air while the Guren protected them en route to the opposite river bank, where the Britannian main line had been drawn – was absolutely dreadful. He could not sit still, for one, and the fact that he had no idea whatsoever what to do certainly made things more difficult.

His only support was Todo, whom Lelouch had appointed Vice-Commander and the army's tactician, who had created the entire scenario now being carried out. Suzaku had to admit it looked like a well thought plan, with the enemy forces held at bay by their naval forces while the VTOL units carried a task unit around to strike at the enemy from behind, but it didn't make him feel any better. His seat, however comfortable, felt constricting, and he longed to be on the frontlines with the rest of them, confirming for all to see that the Black Knight was not one to hide behind his men the moment he was given an important position.

"They are trying to spread their line out further west," Todo commented, looking between Suzaku and the board in front of him, where a radar of the surrounding area showed several of the ships in their fleet in their right flank – from their view – trying to move further to the right. "Their commander is not an idiot, but this plan will not work if the foe is made aware of it."

Suzaku wondered what the plan was exactly; the only advantage spreading their line would have would be to spare them from receiving widespread damage from enemy assaults, at the risk of limiting their own offensive effectiveness. Realistically they could try to advance on the opposite river bank where the Hogosha presently rested, but with KMFs lined along it such a course would not be particularly wise.

With that question resting on the tip of his tongue, Suzaku moved over to Todo's side to watch the radar. He jumped a little when one of the arrowheads representing signals suddenly disappeared, replaced with a red sign that read, 'Signal Lost,' even though he had seen it many times before, in the heat of battle. Predictably it should have been one of the enemy units, that wouldn't have been uncommon, but what made him raise an eyebrow was that it was one of their Longdan battleships. "What's going on?" he asked, gesturing to the no longer present Longdan's position.

Todo frowned, tapping his index finger on the edge of the table while he watched the radar closely. "Both you and Lelouch seem incapable of realizing that no plan is without it's risks. Even the greatest of plans will result in casualties; warfare isn't as it once was, where a well timed ambush could decimate the enemy without any real casualties to your own side. We live by something called the numbers rule."

"The numbers rule?"

Todo nodded. "Generally, the side with more men wins. That is what modern warfare is, and Lelouch's methods most closely resemble an attempt to revive the ways of old, where a mind was greater than a sword."

"He's been successful so far," Suzaku noted, irony striking him in that they were outnumbered in this very battle – Ogi having been dispatched with half of their army to Egypt to keep an eye on the fortifications at El Alamein left them shorthanded where troops and KMFs were concerned.

"Perhaps," Todo conceded, the naturally rough edge his voice carried standing out with rare force. "But going into battle expecting that a well placed ambush or a devastating tactic will decide the battle is, while not entirely without merit, foolish to believe in alone. Valor, strength of will... these things can overcome the greatest strategy, if they are properly used."

"What do you mean?"

Todo frowned, probably disliking the necessity to explain so thoroughly, though Suzaku was aware that he was far too respectful to directly say so. "The battle in the Shinjuku ghetto was a good example. Lelouch had decimated Britannia's forces with no regard for anything except moving his men in ways that allowed them to overcome the greater numbers they faced. But then you appeared on the battlefield, shattering his plans and almost routing his troops."

"I had the Lancelot, though," Suzaku said. "The Lancelot was the first Knightmare Frame to so dramatically surpass the Sutherland, or any other for that matter."

"But you frowned upon terrorism," Todo's voice betrayed no disapproval of his previous stance, even if they had technically been enemies at the time, "and showed a genuine desire to put a stop to their activities. Right?"

Suzaku nodded, leaving the statement unanswered. "What does that have to do with this, though?"

"Necessary casualties," Todo replied casually, gesturing to the radar again. "They will be routed before long. So long as we keep their naval forces from escaping, this will not take much longer."

o---o

Ashford Academy, Britannia's finest insult to what remained of Japanese culture, stood no more. In it's place was nothing more than rubble, like a building that had been caught in the crossfire of a particularly violent engagement – there were probably dozens upon dozens of buildings that looked the exact same back during the Second Pacific War. There were bloodied bodies lying all over the place, all wearing the black uniform or the beige girls' uniform of Ashford Academy. Students who had done no wrong, dead by the thousands over a feud between him and... somebody.

Lelouch swore to define 'somebody.'

Next to him, as indifferent as he was to the destruction, C.C. whistled quietly. Most of the destruction left stones in little more than tiny shards on the ground, but here and there the sight of a body crushed by a larger piece could easily be seen. Lelouch knew he was beyond being bothered by a sight such as this, but in a distant way he still felt responsible. It had been he who started everything, after all...

No. That was wrong. He had started a revolution, purifying the world that had been contaminated by Britannia. He had not set out to see such attrocities committed – it was these very things he set out to stop. He was not the one at fault here.

"Nunnally is in here somewhere," C.C. murmured, casually digging her foot under a nearby body and rolling it over. To Lelouch's inexplicable relief, it wasn't any of his friends, but rather somebody from his Britannian Cultures class; he couldn't even recall the guy's name. But then again, the likelihood of the first person they inspected being somebody he knew on any sort of personal level was unlikely, even if he was the Vice-President of the Student Council, that was arguably more popular than the President was.

"That is what they said," Lelouch replied solemnly, kicking over another body. This one was a girl, with long black hair and a pale complexion, though the latter detail could simply have been because of being dead. Blood was smeared and dried to her face, and a large gash in her forehead seemed to have been the cause of death. At least she probably would have been dead before she felt much pain, Lelouch noted.

"The damage is too severe," he stated as they began climbing over the larger pieces of stone, making their way further into the ruins. In the distance, the Student Council building was still standing, but because the attack had taken place while classes were in session, this did nothing to guarrantee the survival of his friends. "If they were targetting Nunnally, they didn't care about the other lives they took in process."

"You assume they were?"

Lelouch nodded, waving his arm around them in a slow circle. "This was obviously a shot against me. The question is, why would Nunnally's death benefit them?" The depression that normally would have consumed him when he spoke of her loss was minimal at best, and he found himself able to speak of his dear sister's death in an almost casual manner. Was he really so far gone from the compassion Clovis had instilled in him?

"You want revenge for this, don't you?" C.C. asked, more rhetorically than Lelouch appreciated. She didn't even pretend to be surprised by the way his mind worked; it was an unspoken knowledge between them that she simply took in stride. Damn witch.

"Of course I do," Lelouch replied instantly. "Schneizel, the Emperor... One of them is behind this."

They continued down a rubble-free pathway with dying grass lining it. Previously, before everything was destroyed, it was probably part of the academy's garden, or perhaps the lush grass that surrounded the academy. It was hard to tell. Blood was splashed everywhere, whether there was a body nearby or not – with the sheer number of students, more often than not there was a body – and if they didn't have proof to the contrary Lelouch would have presumed this kind of destruction was done not by a bomb, but by man.

Bodies were turned over as they were found, provided there was enough of them left to be distinguished – there wasn't always. Students he knew, many he didn't, and even many of the teachers were found in turn... but none of the Student Council members. This both relieved and worried Lelouch; on one hand, they were alive. On the other, there was so little warning before the attack that they wouldn't have had time to escape, which meant they would have had to have been helped by someone. It was who this 'someone' was that bothered Lelouch.

"You've done this too, you know," C.C. said, breaking the uneasy silence that hung between them. Her expression was neutral, as could be expected, but her eyes held an intensity as they bore into his own that made him shiver – and it wasn't cold, either. "You have made people suffer like this as well, whether you intended to or not."

"I always protect the people," Lelouch replied heatedly, glaring at her. She didn't flinch, though he didn't expect he to, and flipped her hair over her shoulder casually.

"And yet there are people that hate you," she replied, shrugging her shoulders while she rolled over another body. "Some see you as their savior, but Britannia sees you as their treasonous demon. I am sure there are bedtime stories that speak of the Demon King Lelouch, and how he will attack by night and steal away everything they hold dear, like the world did to him."

Lelouch's mouth fell open; he knew there was some opposition to what he did, but it was generally vastly outweighed by the respect and adoration most people showed him. Granted, the Chinese had begun to distance from him slightly now that Xingke was dead, and they saw him more as a beneficial overlord rather than a savior, but the fact remained valid.

But Demon King Lelouch? Was he really that bad to some people? Could he really scare children to sleep simply with his exploits, his many conquests and his overwhelming successes against Britannia?

He frowned petulantly, forcing the thought from his mind while he continued to survey the bodies all around them. There would be time to wonder just what Britannian children thought of him later, after they were done looking for survivors and his friends. His eyes went from body to body, finally landing on the one C.C. had most recently rolled over, and was still staring at. Nearby was a wheel, and not much further away from that was a wheelchair, broken in two pieces, more or less a perfect split down the middle...

"Nunnally!" he shouted, crashing to his knees at the side of his frail sister's body, lifeless and bloody. Her uniform skirt was torn at the ends, there were several cuts made into her top, and all but two of the buttons were missing. Her face was mostly intact, with several small cuts on her cheeks and blood dried all over it, covering her lips and her forehead and her cheeks. Compared to some she got off relatively easy, but there was no denying that she was dead. And by the looks of it, she had died slowly, painfully.

"Nunnally..." he whispered as he embraced her cold body, tears running down his face. His body shook as the tears claimed him – never had he felt so weak, so helpless, as he did when he was holding the lifeless body of his sister, whom he had sworn to dedicate his life to caring for. Her body was frigid, devoid of the warmth that he had looked to for comfort so many times in the past. While he had brooded, looking for ways to improve their situation in life, she was always satisfied knowing he was with her. Never had she openly requested anything but his presence, and her warmth had been one of the only things keeping him from falling into despair during their desperate teenage years.

As soon as the tears stopped, his saddened expression was replaced with one of such rage that C.C. actually took a couple steps away from him, raising an eyebrow. He met her eyes and said in a slow, seething voice, "I will make this world pay for her death. This twisted world will know this pain, C.C., I swear it."

o---o

That idea of seizing important cultural buildings, no matter where they were, was a useful plot; Schneizel knew this, and utilized this knowledge openly. And thus it came to be that the official capital of the Federation of Europe was the majestic Sacré-Cœur Basilica, formerly a Roman-Catholic church before Schneizel exercised his authority and molded it into a palace of sorts, though it was still a church in all but functional purpose.

A very useful location, it oversaw the rest of Paris from atop the Montmartre hill. And with the Saint Pierre de Montmartre having been turned into a base for the capital's main defensive forces, it was a highly secure location as well. Schneizel was no fool, after all; in a world where his name was cursed behind closed doors, there was sure to be people bold enough to attempt to secure their realm from his clutches. And though he now had the power to begin repairing what he had done, it would be a long time before people could come to accept him, if they ever would.

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica had been outfitted with much defensive weaponry along it's many edges and walls, such to the point that the once reverred basilica was now little more than a military fortress, with strong fortifications and a despot Lord residing within. No longer was it a holy ground that deserved respect, but rather an insult to religion, a remnant of a magnificent church for those with christian beliefs that had been distorted nearly beyond all recognition. It's name hardly suited it – Basilica of the Sacred Heart? Hah! - anymore. In fact, the only thing of significance remaining at the basilica was the statue of Joan of Arc.

The inside of the basilica, while unchanged in appearance, served an entirely different purpose. Many of the rooms had been turned into offices and living quarters, furnished accordingly, and the sanctuary had been turned into the throne room. The altar had been completely removed of everything that had formerly occupied it, replaced with a large throne, made from a shining golden wood and lined with golden embroidery, with a red velveteen seat. The pews remained, instead serving the purpose of seating the many nobles and puppet leaders that governed over the various regions of their large nation.

Schneizel was seated on his elegant throne, his elbows resting on either arm and his hands resting over his stomach, fingers laced together. The room was empty at the moment, and many of the nation's leaders were in their respective regions, but he was expecting a particularly interesting visit shortly. Mao would be returning soon, and while Schneizel was already aware of the favorable outcome, Mao had a way with words that would make the outcome infinitely more satisfying. At least, Schneizel thought so. Mao was an interesting man, after all. And his seemingly unconditional hatred for Lelouch and his supposed accomplice made him an easy man to control.

"Lloyd," he called, knowing the man would be lurking around somewhere nearby. "Did we get confirmation of her death?"

Lloyd's face poked out from behind the throne, his lips curving downward in a frown rather than displaying the wide grin or the depraved smirk he often wore. "Yes," he said quietly, his voice lacking the cackling enthusiasm it usually had. "Her body was found in the ruins. It seems Lelouch has found her as well."

"Perfect."

The moment they finished speaking, the doors at the other end of the throne room flew open, Mao striding in with a grin on his face. His sigil-infused eyes bore a distinct satisfaction, the long bangs that usually fell over his face pushed to either side, pressed behind his ears. "Mission complete!" he called dramatically, employing a very Lloyd-like hysteric humor, dashing across the room. Even the fact that he was being assaulted by all of the thoughts around him didn't seem to bother him anymore – Schneizel suspected hearing the same sort of thoughts all the time was easier to deal with than hearing many different voices and things everywhere he went.

"Good job," Schneizel replied, unlacing his fingers and clapping his hands. "And the hostages?"

"Got them!" Mao cheered, gesturing to the doorway where soldiers were holding the members of the Student Council, all of them bound at the wrists. "By the way," he added, "I don't appreciate being called easy to control."

"Oh?" Schneizel hummed, a smirk making it's way onto his face while Mao continued to approach. He was beyond being bothered by Mao knowing his deepest of secrets; he didn't particularly have any to keep, anyway. "Our terms were that I would give you Lelouch and you would give me your power. That being said, I do control you."

Mao nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, whatever," he said dismissively. "So long as we get Lelouch and C.C., I don't care."

"We will," Schneizel promised. "Lelouch is not a rational thinker when emotions are involved. With Nunnally dead, he will think of nothing but avenging her. And that means he will either come to us or to Britannia. Either way, we need to be ready to make use of the situation."

Lloyd's head once again poked out from behind the throne, now grinning like the insane scientist he was. "Cecile and I have finished replicating the stolen designs for the Vincent," he added, stepping out fully from behind the throne and throwing a very exaggerated thumbs up in Mao's direction. "It's white, just like you specified; why you would is beyond me, but that's irrelevant. You want to give your new toy a test run?"

Mao laughed like a child in a toy store, catching the activation key as Lloyd tossed it to him. "I left Lelouch a little... hint, to help him figure out who killed his dear sister," he said finally and casually, ignoring the eyebrow raise he received from Schneizel. "Breaking him is fine with me, but nobody gets the pleasure of taking him down but me. Those were our terms."

With a wave to Lloyd and a brief but polite nod of the head to Schneizel, he rushed off to try out the new toy their expert scientist had created for him. Oh, the look on Lelouch's face when he learned he was alive would be priceless! And with this new Vincent, he could actually measure up to Lelouch in a fight. Provided, of course, that he stayed within range to read Lelouch's mind.

Schneizel smirked and glanced at Lloyd, who looked just as pleased that their new ally liked his new toy. "He will defeat Lelouch for us," Schneizel said, "and then we will conquer Britannia. This world will soon know peace."

o---o

The Congo River was red with blood, mixing with the clear water and tainting it. Suzaku knelt by the water's edge, swiveling his finger in it's depths before pulling it away and inspecting the light red tint it had acquired. The sight of blood did not bother him, nor did the knowledge that he had headed a battle that had killed so many. Their victory was decisive, placing the entirety of the Congo River under their control and driving the Federation of Europe from Central Africa; it was spectacular, in a way that reminded Suzaku of Lelouch's more dramatic victories in times past.

But Lelouch had not been in charge of this attack. He had not played a part in it, and they had still won so easily. So completely. Was the need for his mind no longer there? Suzaku appreciated that fact, but Lelouch falling into obscurity would not do either. Lelouch was so much more than a military commander, after all, even though his standing as the United States' King did little to say so. They said he was a military commander and a man who oversaw the authority everyone else had, but the reality was that he held all the cards. Those who believed they had any real power were being mislead.

This victory had been one that they could claim was their own. Like at California, the United States' army had not relied upon their King to lead them to victory, as they had both in China and in Japan's restoration. Kyoshiro Todo, the assumed Vice-General of their army, had been heralded as the hero of Africa for their monumental victory. And Suzaku, even though he was often grouped with Lelouch on account of being the Black Knight, had been praised as well, although it seemed common knowledge that he had played little part in their victory.

Behind him, soldiers were binding the captives, among which was the enemy commander, Kanon Maldini. Todo had not destroyed the enemy fleet, as Suzaku thought he would. Instead they had simply surrounded the enemy fleet, cornered their G-1 base, and forced their surrender. Todo had said that the enemy commander had wanted to continue fighting, strangely enough, but the enemy fleet had surrendered without a second thought. Some even turned on their allies, siding with their assailants and helping to take control of the surrendering ships. The yield of supplies and other equipment they got from the battle was tremendous.

Ogi and Tamaki, with the forces under their command, had repositioned themselves so as to properly establish a supply route that supported both armies. The enemy position at El Alamein was the only thing standing between them and complete control over Africa, and a victory there meant that Schneizel would be forced to come to the frontlines at Gibraltar to stop them from pressing into Europe. So long as they were not caught by some unforeseen force at either of these locations, their conquest of another third of the world was not far off.

Which was a funny thing, really. Before the days when Lelouch Lamperouge was a world-widely known name, world unification was seen as a distant dream even for Britannia. Successes in Africa were limited, and they had a standoff with the Euro Universe in several places. The Chinese Federation had thrived on it's own corruption, and the world had been as divided as ever. And then Lelouch had come along, wearing a flashy outfit and a mysterious mask, declaring himself to be a revolutionary that would destroy Britannia.

At the time, his words had seemed idealistic at best. But within a few months of his appearance, he had scored several victories against Britannian forces in Area 11 and moved on to the Chinese Federation where, slowly but surely, he was disguising himself as India's ally while conquering and reforming the country. And then he had returned proudly to Area 11, saving the people who believed in him most and forming a superpower that matched the strength of Britannia fully. He had made the distant dream of world unification a disturbingly simple matter.

"Lord Kururugi, may we have a moment of your time?" Suzaku looked over his shoulder, where two soldiers stood at attention, their left hands at their foreheads in a rigid salute. Even though Lelouch had not demanded such formality, it seemed reflexive for them to show formality to any other. They were each wearing the complete uniform of the Black Knights, with a black cap keeping all but the ends of their hair hidden from view, and a purple viser doing likewise to their eyes. Both had brown hair, and one was taller than the other by several inches, though both were taller than Suzaku himself.

"Of course," Suzaku replied neutrally, rising to his feet and wiping his bloodied finger on his sleeve. "What do you need?"

"Sir Todo wants you to be there when we meet with the enemy commander," the taller of the two informed, dropping his salute. In time with one another they stood to the side, gesturing toward where the prisoners were. Nodding, Suzaku allowed himself to be escorted to the prisoners by the guards. His highly unnecessary armor clanked loudly as he walked, a telltale sign of his approach to anybody who recognized the sound. Many of the prisoners were bound, seated on the ground while soldiers rounded up the rest and stripped them of all weaponry. There were well over one thousand prisoners.

Near the prisoners already bound was Todo, holding a bound Kanon by the shoulders. Kanon's face, oddly beautiful though it was, bore a look of fierce rage. He stubbornly struggled against Todo's hold even though it was painfully apparent that doing so would get him nowhere, and two soldiers standing on either side of him routinely hit him with the ends to the rifles they held in their hands.

"This is..." Suzaku murmured, getting a good look at Kanon's face. "You betrayed Britannia with Schneizel?"

"Says the traitorous Lancelot pilot?" asked Kanon incredulously, and even Todo sent Suzaku a slightly disbelieving look. Surely his word was worth more than that... right?

"His point is valid, though," Todo added, nodding his head as though he were paying attention to the grateful look Suzaku gave him. "Why would you betray Britannia?"

"His Highness' will is to be obeyed," Kanon replied casually, betraying the furious look on his face. "Compared to His Highness, my loyalty to Britannia means nothing."

"I see," Suzaku replied evenly. And he did, in a strange way; he knew how convictions could overcome the fiercest of loyalties, given the right conditions. He himself had succumbed to his convictions and his friendship with Lelouch, betraying Britannia and utterly dooming it's only hope of halting the uprising of Zero.

"Do you?" challenged Kanon, his voice anything but sincere. "Do you know what it means to have faith in somebody, to believe that no matter what wrongs they commit, following them is the only way you could possibly live? Can you serve Lelouch without ever doubting him, without ever wondering if there were a better way?"

Suzaku was floored. Never had he been so bluntly asked such an important question. Having condition-less faith in Lelouch? Suzaku was ashamed to admit that he thought such a thing to be impossible. No matter how good Lelouch could be, there were times when he fell to his baser desires, using calculating methods that were anything but humane. Schneizel was no better, of course, but Kanon at least seemed to have accepted those evils. Suzaku could not say the same thing.

"I suppose not," Kanon continued, reading the blank look on Suzaku's face. "Serving Lelouch will bring you nothing but disappointment. Even now, he cares for nothing but avenging the destruction of Ashford Academy."

Suzaku staggered backwards, quickly and harshly grabbed at the arm by Todo. "Ashford...?" he murmured. Had such a terrible thing really happened while he was away? And if so, why had Lelouch not told him? What had happened to their friends? Their former classmates?

... To Nunnally?

o---o

Hushed tones spoke of the vast change in Britannia, simply three days after the ascent of Odysseus U Britannia to the throne as Britannia's 99th Emperor – several simply considered him a replacement to the 98th, but the fact remained that a new era had begun. Be it on account of the new Emperor's inherent cowardice or on account of his surprisingly gentle soul, Britannia had been changed utterly.

One would think that so much change would anger the populace, or at least the nobility, but neither was the case. Never had Britannia been more united. The Numbers system was slowly being changed from one of an oppressive distinction to being a rank in society equal to that of Britannia's citizens. Already, the natives of Britannia's colonies in South America and Russia had been granted full rights, imprisoned natives given pardon and returned to their families, and thousands of others offered rank either in the military or on the political scene as a show of good faith.

Already, the name of Odysseus U Britannia was praised as readily as his half-brother's, the King Lelouch Lamperouge. The natives of Britannia's colonies hailed him as the Savior Emperor, the first Emperor in many generations to so openly show kindness for them. Those beyond Britannia's borders sought refuge within the large nation, hoping to escape the escalating conflict between the United States and the Federation of Europe. Many would laugh when they made the connection that Britannia was now a safe haven from warfare, but it didn't change the fact that many considered His Majesty to be the best thing to happen to Britannia in many decades.

If there was anything to be frowned upon, it would be his boundless compassion. Already His Majesty had forsaken all good advice, sending diplomats both to Tokyo and to Paris in the hopes of bettering his relations with his half-brother's. As benevolent as he was, Odysseus U Britannia follishly clung to the hope that his brothers would come to their senses. Preferably, he would think privately, before one of them killed the other.

On top of peace missions and the nation's reformation of it's stance toward it's colonized regions, Britannia had expressed a most personal interest in the recent destruction of Ashford Academy. While it seemed – and was openly said – that Odysseus simply wanted to find means to prove that Britannia was not involved, so as to avert potential disaster related to the death of pseudo-Princess Nunnally, there was not a courtier unaware of His Majesty's worry for his half-brother. His every attempt at proving Britannia's innocence was a thinly veiled scheme, reeking with the intent to aid his half-brother in delivering justice for his sister's death.

There was no real way to fault his compassion, though. Even the nobility, who had once thrived on Britannia's oppressive tactics as a means to further their own influence, had been pacified by many opportunities to do the same in this new, more peaceful Britannia. There were few who could say honestly that they disliked this new era in Britannia's history, and many of those few were presently being subjugated in many national defense operations headed by His Majesty himself. Perhaps he was not the timid coward who ran to Prime Minister Schneizel at the first sign of a problem, any longer.

The throne he occupied was not filled poorly, as one would have expected but three days ago. With his father's broad shoulders and a determination to match, Odysseus U Britannia had taken Britannia by force and molded it, not unlike what his half-brothers were doing to the rest of the world. They were entering an era that would be bloodier than any before, where the royal family of Britannia would contend with one another for full control of the world. And never had anybody been more terrified, Odysseus himself included.

"Lelouch won at the Congo River, huh..." he murmured, cradling his head on the palm of his hand. He knew not just how powerful Lelouch and his army was now, but it came as no surprise to him that they surpassed Schneizel. Powerful as he was, the changing times had proved that the days where Schneizel El Britannia was the finest tactician Britannia knew was fading. He was falling into obscurity, replaced by the growing strength of Lelouch Lamperouge. Odysseus knew he could match neither, just like he knew that Britannia had not a single man who could contend with either on an intellectual level. They had Britannia by the throat in that regard.

"Yes, brother," Guinevere replied stiffly. While considerably smaller than her brother, she was no less imposing, with a commanding aura about her and a naturally formed sneer that said, "I'm better than you, and I know it." Which was entirely true, and all too fitting of the greedy woman. Her hair, a pale mixture of gray and violet, fell around her shoulders and blended with the dress of the same color tightly clinging to her every curve. The amount of cleavage was something one would dare call excessive, but in the case of Guinevere U Britannia it was not so much enticing as it was a further sign of her holier-than-though nature. And it suited her well.

Standing next to her was Carline Le Britannia, whom many considered to be the Yang to the late Nunnally Vi Britannia's Yin. Where the exiled princess was compassionate to a fault, with boundless love for all that lived, Carline Le Britannia thrived on her love of war and conflict. Amongst the former Emperor's many daughters, it could be said that she, in close race with Cornelia Li Britannia, was most like her father. She stood proud even though she reached only to the bottom of her half-sister's bosom in height, with firey orange hair pulled into two pigtails on either side of her head by two yellow bands. By comparison to her sister, though, she could hardly be considered a princess. While noble in appearance, her clothing was casual at best, wearing a more regal variation of a standard blouse, red pants that made her thighs look far larger than was probably necessary, and high rising yellow socks beneath strange looking purple boots. Indeed, she was the black sheep of Britannia's princesses.

"And how has Schneizel responded? Have we heard no word from the diplomats we sent?"

Carline stiffened; she was the unofficial leader of the minority of nobles that disapproved of Britannia's more moderate policies, and she made no effort to hide it. Guinevere sent her a contemptuous look from the corner of her eye, but otherwise remained completely professional. "None yet. Incidentally, Lelouch has given us his reply: in exchange for recognized control over our base at California, he is willing to agree to a mutual ceasefire. Naturally, we cannot expect him to hold this up once the war with the Federation of Europe is through."

"I see..." Odysseus whispered. Though it would be weak of him to say so, he had expressed no interest in reclaiming their base along the Pacific. No, that body of water had seen enough conflict since their annexation of Japan. And while the base was integral in their defense of the mainland, he was confident that their many bases throughout California, particularly around Sacramento and the Sacramento River, would suffice in their defense on that front. "I will accept those terms," he said at last, "but when the last of the insurgents in York County have been subjugated, our bases in California will need to be reinforced."

Yes, it could be said – truthfully – that Odysseus hated war. He sought peace at every turn, using violence only when no other alternative presented itself. This was not on account of his fondness for his half-brothers, but rather on account of his nature. He had always been this way, or so Guinevere would say, and it was both a quality and an insult to Britannia's nature at once. Oftentimes, discovering which was more apt a description was a task in and of itself.

But even so, he was by no means a fool. He realized that while he preferred peace, Lelouch often solved his problems through conflict. It was a means to an end, perhaps, but the young King was not so far gone as to see it as only that. And were relations between their two nations to fall apart, Odysseus knew better than to expect Lelouch to hesitate because of his half-brother. No, Lelouch would never do that again, now that Clovis was dead. Bless the man for his sacrifice, but it saddened Odysseus all the same to know that his dear half-brother would not hesitate to cut his throat open.

"Also," Guinevere continued, catching Odysseus' attention, "Joseph Fenette has recently disappeared. Without a trace, at that."

Odysseus' face left his hand and he folded them in front of him, elbows resting on the arms of his throne and his chin resting atop them. "His daughter went to Ashford, right?"

"That's right," Guinevere said, nodding. "We have tried, but have been unsuccessful in finding a connection between these two events."

"Hmm..." Odysseus hummed, trying to make sense of it himself. While he didn't know Joseph on a personal level – not many in the Emperor's court did – he did know that he was a rigid and dedicated individual, and that his disappearance was a most strange event. The way Odysseus saw it, his disappearance could be explained only by something related to his daughter; even though they were a sea apart, he always had been at her every beck and call.

"And we have no way of confirming if his daughter is alive?"

Guinevere frowned, probably growing tired of the meaningless questions placed before her. "As has been said, no body was found. But with an attack of such scale, there is no promise that the case is not simply that there was no body left to be found.

"We did, however, find this," she continued, and held out a small piece of paper, torn around the edges and splotched with blood. Some of the words were still recognizable, but most had been either blurred by nature's effects on the paper or by the blood; it was a miracle it was still in one piece. "Little could be learned from it, but the letter seemed to be particularly angry, and it was addressed to Lelouch from somebody who named themselves 'M'."

Odysseus pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number he had called only once before, and that had been to alert the person in question of his activities in Japan at the site of the ruined Ashford Academy. Lelouch picked up after the second ring, mumbling a despondent, "Hello?" into the phone. He was either extremely saddened, or very tired – Odysseus didn't want to know which, because each was depressing in it's own right.

"We found a letter in the ruins of Ashford, Lelouch," Odysseus replied smoothly, taking the letter from Guinevere's cold grasp and reading it over himself. "Do you know anybody who has a grudge against you?" Odysseus realized only too late that such a question was infinitely idiotic.

But despite himself, Lelouch managed a laugh at that. "I believe so," he murmured. In the background, a distinctly feminine voice could be heard chuckling, as though something that probably shouldn't have been humorous at all was the most amusing thing in the world. Odysseus feared he never would understand the strange, psychotic people his half-brother associated with.

"Anybody who would use the codename 'M'?" Odysseus asked, reading the cryptic letter over and over again. Nobody he knew would use such a codename, but then again he didn't know many people who needed a codename to begin with. In fact, he knew none at all, if he wasn't mistaken. That was always a good thing.

He was met with silence. Silence, and that mysterious chuckling in the background. Lelouch's voice was heard distantly, saying to the woman that was present, "Do you think he could be alive?" only to be met with another chuckle and, as Lelouch picked up the phone again, a soft noise that sounded like the ruffling of clothes. Odysseus decided to ignore the accompanying noises from now on.

"I think I know," Lelouch replied tensely. His voice was thick with emotion, somewhere between sadness and rage; a unique mix only Lelouch could effectively pull off. "Leave it to me, brother. I will set everything right."

* * *

This chapter was a little shorter than the last few have been, but I'll forgive it because it nicely sets the stage for next chapter which, like this one, will be named after one of Code Geass' songs. It will be one of the three climactic battles this fic has left, and one I've been wanting to write for a while now – mostly because it allows me to employ my presently rusty love for tactical warfare. At any rate, it may take me longer to write it than it has been taking lately, and it might not. I say this because to be honest, I don't know how fast I'll feel like writing it.

I just don't want people breathing down my neck because I'm not rolling out another chapter days after the one before it. Not that I expect it to take weeks, because that's a bit excessive. But I'll not rule out the possibility until I know it's impossible. Is that alright? Good.


	28. Doubt & Trust Part One

Yay! More people to agree with in my intense hatred of R2! Not that it didn't have it's moments (there were more than enough epic moments involving Lelouch to satisfy me, particularly in the last few episodes), but it did leave something (a lot) to be desired. And the worst part is, I gave Sunrise the benefit of the doubt, even though I was bracing myself for a bad season the moment I saw their half-assed gloss over of everything that had happened between Lelouch and Shirley in season one (the rest of his friends being victimized is collateral damage at best, by comparison).

Anyway, Nillie, I ran into more than a bit of trouble when writing out how Suzaku's character is steadily changing. He's at such a stage right now where the constant swap between Old!Suzaku and Badass/Insane!Suzaku gets a little bit mundane, and trying to keep him on the fine line between the two while simultaneously trying to get across the message that things are revolving around Lelouch less and less is tiresome, to say the least. Frankly, I think I need a little bit of work on that; I think that fine line is waving a little bit from side to side, sometimes.

And [Anonymous Author] (with a website for a name?), I have to wonder what exactly you mean by 'tragedy'. I mean, up until recently this has been a one-sided battle in favor of Lelouch that had me so self-conscious of it all that it was almost unbearable. Even now the drama is minimal, though it is slowly reaching the level that could be expected of Code Geass, and tragic is not really that I would consider it to be. But then again, a lot of the drama is based around things that I typically think should happen no matter what.

Like Nunnally dying. I've thought from the very beginning that she was meant to die – Lelouch would simply be too happy (wrong word, so sue me) if she lived, and that simply wouldn't do for our lovable Byronic protagonist, now would it?

And I suppose calling me a perfectionist is fitting, given how obsessed I am with making this story as good as I possibly can. I never really looked at it that way, though, because I took it to be common sense that you would want to do so. I mean, being a perfectionist should be a good thing in writing, right?

Anyway, all points regarding our tormented protagonist and my blatant need to be a perfectionist aside, I hope nobody minds too much the utterly pointless and filler-esque scene here at the beginning; I felt it would be a good idea to define it (Lelouch and C.C. being the 'it') a little, and a bit of humor on the eve of a brutal battle is always a good thing. I think so, anyway; too much angsty drama at once gives the story a really dark feeling, which the story shouldn't have – drama and the like, okay, but this story was never intended to be dark in nature. That, and I had a lot of pent up need to write something more lighthearted after one of the more recent episodes of Gundam 00 (finally adequate evidence of a possible SetsunaxFeldt pairing! Go run an orphanage or something, Marina; Lacus may be able to help _)...

While I'm at it, I didn't really intend for that phone call scene last chapter to be so ambiguous... Looking back on it, it is funny, though. And leaving it ambiguous is actually better than what I had initially intended, looking back on it.

So, I got to looking at the statistics for this story. And over 75,000 views? Forgive me for being humble, but when the hell did this become so popular?

Lastly, if people are wondering why the chapter is most certainly not named after one of CG's songs as I said it would, there is good reason for that. This chapter is instead named after Doubt & Trust by access, from which a beautiful MAD video was made for the last episode of Code Geass R2. Seriously, it was amazing, and it fit the episode – hell, it fit the last four episodes of R2 perfectly. Having seen it, I just had to name this chapter after it; it was just good fortune that the title fit with the theme of this chapter anyway.

* * *

"Have you ever thought about kids?"

She had seemed completely serious asking this, her face a blank mask that didn't show any of it's usual signs of playfulness or teasing intent. C.C. had taken a question previously only heard of in the strangest of romance novels he had read in his time, and presented it before him like it was a curious subject that she longed to understand. Perhaps she did, but she'd never tell him, he knew.

To make matters worse, Lelouch knew the context in which she had meant the question to be. It wasn't something to be misinterpreted and it was something that, coming from her in such a blunt manner, brought a scorching flame of color to his cheeks. She meant kids, as in the sort that he would shower with affection and love, determined to not be what his father had been to him. She didn't mean the children of people wronged, people he could draw strength from and turn into soldiers. No, that was just weird.

Not that asking him if he thought about kids wasn't. It was about as strange as questions got, and they hardly had a relationship where such a question was appropriate. Although Lelouch didn't dare claim to know where exactly they stood, he knew they weren't in a pseudo-husband-wife relationship of any kind. But then again, they'd always sort of defined their own relationship, rather than molding into any one sort of relationship; flimsy words like 'couple', 'friends with benefits' – minus the actual benefit part of the package – or even 'spouse' could hardly be used to properly define their relationship. Perhaps in her twisted logic, partners with a questionably romantic undertone were able to ask one another what they thought of children, or rather, having children? That was what she had meant, after all.

Always one for eloquence, Lelouch suitably composed himself before he casually replied, though with more pause than was necessary, "... No?" The fact that it had left his mind a statement and left his lips a question didn't help his case. Ah, yes, Lelouch Lamperouge was capable of being taken by surprise. What sickening irony.

Her response was one that could be expected of her, even if the context where such an expected response lied was completely unfamiliar. "Having a family," she clarified, in such a way that suggested that he didn't know this already – she knew he did, of course. "You've thought about it, right?"

As strange as the conversation was, Lelouch could not bring himself to say that he disliked the notion of it. Not the idea of children; no, that was something he hadn't had time to think about for nearly a year, but talking about such things with C.C. wasn't as uncomfortable as he would have thought it to be. It almost felt normal, if one were to ignore the blunt manner in which she had introduced the subject... And Lelouch could ignore that, if only because he was already more than used to the way her mind worked. It was like his own, in a way, although he was glad to say his was not so impulsive as her's.

"I used to," he admitted, stretching out along the length of his bed, the one he had been foolishly procrastinating on leaving for the better part of the last half hour. He really didn't have the time to be laying there, especially when Mao was alive and waiting for him somewhere, with an 'Aim Here' sign pinned to his forehead, but between keeping up to date on the war in Africa and restoring Japan to it's former splendor, he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in many a day. It felt like the early days of the rebellion all over again, where the attention that his uprising with the Order of the Black Knights demanded left him getting less than three or four hours of sleep a night. Those had been dreadful days and his performance in school had suffered accordingly, but it had been put in the past until now. Not that he hadn't been expecting it, of course, but the fact remained that being so sorely deprived of rest was something no boy, King of one third of the world or not, should have to suffer through.

"Used to?" asked C.C., when he offered no elaboration.

"In the past," he clarified, "back before the Geass allowed me the opportunity to come this far. Back when I believed I'd have time for a regular school life before I set my plans of rebellion in motion." His eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, weaving around the intricate patterns drawn into it. "Back then, I figured it would be Shirley. She never did a good job of hiding her feelings, and she always had a motherly side – I suppose that was what drew me to her, a little bit. I wanted kids, if only to prove that I could continue the family line without leaving them to be as twisted as my father left my brothers and sisters, and I. They probably never would have known that their grandfather was the 98th Emperor, but they would have been happy nonetheless."

From the corner of his eye C.C. nodded, settling against one of the bedposts. "And now?"

Lelouch laughed derisively, leaning up on his elbows to properly look at her. "Now? Even if I were to ignore the fact that we are in the middle of a war, C.C., I'm an immortal. I don't fancy the idea of having children that I will outlive."

"I suppose it would be depressing," she replied, as if that particular thought hadn't previously occurred to her.

"We are not meant for things that do not last forever. You taught me that," said Lelouch, cocking an eyebrow in her direction. "Having a family that will outlive you... it just doesn't feel right. I'd rather stay with the things that do last forever, the things that won't inevitably be taken away by time."

"Those things are too few and far between," C.C. replied knowingly, falling down on the bed and pulling herself up to rest at his side, her head inches from resting comfortably upon his chest. "If you focus only on the things that will stay forever, you will be a very lonely person."

Lelouch smirked, finally giving in to the necessity to get out of bed. He stood, dimly aware that he was clad only in the pants of his school uniform in front of the person that was most likely to note such a thing, and walked toward his closet. "Time is a curious thing, is it not?" he asked rhetorically, stripping off his pants and replacing them with a tight pair of jeans that were on the border of being too small for comfort. He threw on the sleeveless black shirt he often wore for casual purposes and then pulled an orange jacket over it, pulling up the zipper and folding the sleeves so that they rested comfortably around his wrists. He felt C.C.'s eyes on him the entire time, and while he should have been flustered by the notion of a woman seeing him in such a manner, strangely it didn't bother him in the slightest when it was her.

"How do you mean?" C.C. asked, her eyes fixated on a certain part of Lelouch's backside that brought a nefarious smirk to his lips. While she was beyond the point of lustful attractions and girlish whims, C.C. was as susceptible to an attractive man as any other woman, it appeared. This pleased him more than he cared to admit.

"Think about it," Lelouch drawled, running a hand through his hair so that the unkempt mess appeared as though it had been given at least some care. "In Britannia, the year is 2018. For the rest of the world, the year is 1963," he said, "... give or take," he then immediately added. He settled back onto his bed, turning his head swiftly enough to catch notice of C.C.'s eyes flying from his back to his face, looking like a dear caught in headlights. His smirk widened. "For us, time stands still. The world does not change with this, nor does it appear different, and yet to us the world is a completely different place than it is to everybody else."

"I told you it would be so when I gave you the Geass," C.C. quipped, replying to Lelouch's smirk with one of her own when she realized she'd been caught. Shameless to the very end; it was a quality acquired only by her many years of life, and the profound experience she had with such things. "I never imagined you would make it so far as to become an immortal, but those words are all the more true now."

Lelouch nodded once, a bob of the head so enthusiastic that the tense muscles in the back of his neck popped lightly. "I'll not judge you for being spiteful of living forever, but I will make use of this boon the Geass has given me."

"If people learn you are immortal, you will be shunned," C.C. said warningly. "You fight alongside them, and they fight knowing that you are brave enough to die with them. But you cannot die, not anymore."

Lelouch nodded, reaching blindly for C.C.'s hand, squeezing it tightly when he found it. "We are partners, C.C.," he whispered, keeping his eyes trained on the wall in front of him. "Even if the world betrays us, we will not be alone. We will see this through, even if we must forsake all else to do it."

o---o

This was it, Suzaku thought, as crew members ran system checks on the Lancelot. Ogi had initiated the first part of their plan, laying siege to El Alamein while they moved in on Gibraltar. They would break through the Federation's base on the north bank of the Gibraltar Strait, and from there they would be a mere stone's throw from France. A victory here could very well put them in a position to begin negotiations of surrender with Schneizel, but if Nunnally truly was dead... Well, if that were indeed the case, Suzaku doubted Lelouch would be so compassionate as to allow Schneizel to live. No, blood would be spilled in Nunnally's honor, Suzaku was sure.

The past few weeks had been a bloody one in and of itself, though. From the Congo River, they had fought no less than four battles against Federation forces between the river and Gibraltar, each time weakening the Federation's forces more and more. First it was a proper siege on Kisangani, a northern tributary to the Congo River. And then it was two assaults along the Suez Canal, first to Suez itself and then to Port Said, whereupon the Federation's naval route into Africa had been closed off, with the added effect of isolating El Alamein from the homeland. It was tedious and it seemed pointless, but direct orders from Lelouch had stated that a war of attrition would be the best way to ensure that Schneizel had not the means to turn the tables on them when it came time to fight a decisive battle. Todo had agreed wholeheartedly with Lelouch's idea, and they had drawn out Federation forces from the areas surrounding Gibraltar, as well as forcing them to dispatch fresh reinforcements from the homeland, all of which had been swept up quickly and efficiently. More than one hundred Panzer-Hummels had been destroyed, more than fifty captured and in operating condition for their own use, and more than ten thousand captives taken.

These small victories came together to a more decisive victory at Tangier, where not only were Federation forces thoroughly routed, but the only other route into Africa from the sea had effectively been cut off. Ogi's efforts at El Alamein reached a headway when the Federation forces had been forced to make an offensive, whereupon they had immediately been driven back into their starved defenses, leaving the Federation's sole remaining position in Northern Africa isolated and starved for supplies, and control of the Mediterranean Sea was almost entirely their's, with the added effect of endangering the Federation's position in the Middle East.

It was shocking, how quickly they had achieved such a level of success. Their own forces were hardly any larger than any one of the many forces they had engaged in battle with, and only proper use of terrain and Todo's great aptitude for commanding had kept them going. Suzaku had left nearly all of his duties as Commander to Todo, instead preferring to fight on the frontlines with their troops. It had made a difference in the end; the added strength of him and Karen had turned the tables against the Federation forces in just about every conflict. Suzaku would dare say that their presence had made the difference between victory and defeat, though he would never be so bold nor so arrogant as to say so to another person. Asserting himself as anything but the Black Knight that Lelouch had dubbed him was not something he cared to do.

"Lord Kururugi, this is it," Diethard's voice enveloped him, coming at him from all sides within the suddenly too small cockpit and breaking him free of the reminiscent thoughts that had claimed him. "For a progressive future, win!"

Blunt to the bitter end, even when speaking to a figure of authority. That was Diethard Ried, the faithful visionary that he was. So long as they kept the world moving in a spiral of exciting change, they would have his support. The need for his support was no longer there, but as an organizer and for purposes of intel, he had limitless uses. Suzaku wondered why Lelouch kept such a wild card at his side, but then, Lelouch had many that most would consider unworthy of trust. And though he loathed to admit it, Suzaku realized that he was probably one of those people. Betraying Britannia for your best friend hardly made you a trustworthy person, did it?

Trustworthy or not was hardly something Suzaku had the right to dictate. Lelouch had declared all too openly, albeit wordlessly, that everything was in his hands. Their terms with the other leaders of the United States were nulled almost immediately, and with the exception of home security and the occasional appearance within Army High Command, Lelouch was in control of everything from domestic policy to politics to military affairs. Lelouch single-handedly took it all upon himself, effectively using his position as King as a means to convince the other leaders that his decisions had benefit for them all. And so if Lelouch said a war of attrition with the Federation of Europe was the best for their overall goal of toppling Britannia, they didn't question him. If he said making use of a reporter obsessed with being at the forefront of a massive change was something that they should do, they went with it.

Africa, like China, had become a puppet in Lelouch's greater scheme. They were pacified with a false sense of independence, convinced into believing that they held their own cards and that they followed his orders only because it was best for them. Lelouch preyed on this hope of their's, manipulating each and every one of the United States' countries into being little more than colonies, not unlike the Areas of Britannia. And as cruel as that was, one couldn't help but be impressed with his ability to so transparently do so. The world was held by thin strings stretching from his fingers, dancing to his will like puppets to a puppeteer. The young Tianzi of the Empire of China was the worst of the lot, living a supposed life of independence free of the High Eunuchs' influence, when in fact her puppeteer's role had simply shifted from them to Lelouch. But the beauty of it was that she did not realize this, working with Japan's Representative, Kaguya, to further his influence in internal affairs.

And they did so because Lelouch requested it of them, with but a single twitch of one of the strings holding their wills.

Next to the Lancelot, Xingke's salvaged Shen-Hu was being prepped for launch under it's new pilot, Todo. Thankfully any damage it had sustained fighting the Knight of One had been easy to deal with, and the Frame was already fully repaired and ready to be fielded once again. Having checked over the Frame himself, Suzaku had to wonder is using it was a good idea – he could see why Xingke had often been so tired and out of breath after piloting it. The strain it put on the body was enormous! But Xingke had persevered, and so too could Todo, right?

"I'm launching!" Suzaku shouted, racing along the length of the linear catapult while his float system activated itself, finally allowing him to accelerate and fly off of the end of the catapult, into the open skies beyond. Already, several Akatsuki and Gekka were on the deck, fending off aircrafts as they neared the Hogosha. Their efforts were hampered slightly by the Gefjun field the Hogosha emitted, but they still operated well enough to keep the enemy at bay. Any brazen enough to attack in the first place met tragic ends as they were met with either several rounds from a rifle or a slash harken, neither of which left much chance for survival. Suzaku ignored those already surrounding the ship, focusing instead on the aircrafts still approaching. While they were handling things so far, even the weakest of enemies could pull through if the Hogosha were to be overwhelmed.

He brought his Hadron blaster up to his shoulder, briefly taking fire before he fired, turning as he fired so that the stream tore through several aircrafts before it died out. The result was one of sickening satisfaction, with no less than fifteen signals being lost one after the other. The sheer number of jets was overwhelming, and many of them had forsaken their suicidal charge toward the Hogosha in favor of cornering the Lancelot. Faster than Suzaku could react, he was moving up and down and all around in a desperate attempt to avoid countless jets all firing at him at once. The bullets that did hit home did minimal damage, but it was obvious that they could get the job done were he to just let them hit him.

"The Black Knight!" one of them cried out, partly out of fear and partly out of excitement; which spurred the pilot in question into suddenly trying to take out the Lancelot with it in a suicidal charge, Suzaku wasn't sure. He swerved to the side and swung with one of his MVS, using the explosive cover to make his way around the encirclement of jets he was facing. He dove in and around several of them, taking out one either with a swing of his MVS or a slash harken when he could safely do so without leaving himself open to attack. The thirty swarming around him soon became forty, however, and before he could properly prepare himself, it had become fifty.

Oh, what he wouldn't give to have had enough space to use the Hadron blaster...

"Suzaku!" cried Karen warningly, giving him only a few seconds to move before a Fukushahado wave flew past, destroying many of the jets. Suzaku followed through with his Hadron blaster, and the two streams made short work of the many jets around them. Any survivors were left sorely outmatched and quite possibly unarmed, if the sheer amount of firepower they had seen bounce harmlessly off of their shields had been any indication, and the wise decision to retreat was made. "Rushing off to battle," Karen laughed, though it was without humor. "Really..."

"We have to clear the strait," Suzaku replied stiffly, and the mirthless laughter ceased immediately. "We must be Lelouch's swords here. Are you ready?"

The two Frames danced around one another while they continued to fight off approaching jets, first by the tens and then by the hundreds. Schneizel's willingness to sacrifice so many lives was surprising, but there was something else to it, Suzaku was sure. But what? What could he be planning, to so readily risk so many lives? Obviously he was biding his time, trying to keep them from the north bank – and Suzaku doubted this was simply because the battle would be one-sided in their favor were the north bank to be reached. What few were outfitted to properly fight Knightmare Frames hardly made the difference; evidently Schneizel had run into problems trying to convince everybody how real the threat of Knightmare Frames against aerial forces was, and thusly had been given minimal armaments to properly address the situation. This benefited Suzaku greatly, and he was grateful that he seldom had to worry about the anti-armor weaponry that some jets had been outfitted with, derived from the Soviet anti-tank guns that had been used up until the modernized integration of Knightmare Frames into military forces.

Those outfitted for anti-KMF combat were also armed with a reverse-engineered variation of the slash harken, which posed no small problem for the vastly outnumbered Lancelot. Even with it's speed, it took increasingly superhuman feats of skill to successfully dodge torrents of artillery and a slash harken. The Guren was able to provide support, but both took a hard hit from their lack of long ranged weaponry; the Lancelot had a standard rifle, as did the Guren, and they both had their respective weapons in the Hadron blaster and the Fukushahado-infused claw arm. The VARIS provided little support in that regard as well, though it's more specified uses limited it's usefulness anyway. This left Suzaku nearly a sitting duck where fighting was concerned, able to do little more than continue to dodge until he or Karen could get off an attack that would weaken their foe even a little bit. Their only hope rested in the possibility of the enemy assault coming to a sudden halt, but as it stood Schneizel's plan to bide his time appeared to be quite successful.

While Karen threw up her shields and took the brunt of the assault, Suzaku used the opportunity to attack in earnest. The many jets and other aerial forces – many were stealth aircrafts – were helpless before the Lancelot, and with the issue of the Guren occupying their attention, many were made short work of by Suzaku. It helped that the sky was particularly cloudy, which limited visibility just enough to aid him without hindering his own ability; he needed less precise vision to operate properly, whereas the pilots of aircrafts required perfect vision so as to maximize accuracy. Slash harkens broke through wisps of clouds and rifle rounds tore through the air, dying the sky red with the resultant explosions of aircrafts all throughout.

And the true battle still had yet to begin. Was a battle so bloody the only thing that could truly appease Lelouch now?

o---o

Intel was a great thing to have control over, primarily because it allowed for quick responses to any new developments. Normally, Lelouch used the United States' vast information network simply to keep up on the things even Army High Command didn't get to is ears. But when infiltrated spies confirmed not only Schneizel's plans to go to Gibraltar himself, but also that four children wearing the uniforms of Ashford Academy had arrived at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica by the hand of an eccentric man with silver hair and an eerie disposition, Lelouch was very much inclined to go to the frontlines himself. C.C. had expressed much the same sentiment, wanting to fulfill her end of their newly made contract by destroying what remained of the Geass in the world, and thus the Gawain – the Hakumei had decidedly been left behind in order to minimize the time it would take them to mobilize – was now being loaded onto a transport plane capable of holding up to five KMFs, though it was to be carrying only the Gawain for this trip.

"Mao is with Schneizel," he said in no uncertain terms, finishing the buttoning of a billowing black cape around his neck. The part that wrapped around his neck was lined with golden embroidery, accentuating his choice of clothing for this particular trip – a close fitting white outfit, with golden embroidery lining most every inch of the fabric and a small hat that had a green plume falling behind it and almost seemed to have an eye engraved into the front of it, otherwise vaguely resembling a pirate's uniquely shaped hat except, as had been noted, smaller. The shirt was high collared, clinging firmly to his neck and pressing even tighter with the clasp of his cape constricting it. Over the dressy shirt was an additional article with the purpose of further accentuating his black cape, with the same white that the rest of his outfit held, and golden lining on either of the two straps that fell loosely over his shoulders. The clothing should have made piloting uncomfortable, reasonably speaking, but with how much space the Gawain's cockpit had, it was hardly a problem. C.C. was wearing the white suit she often wore, courtesy of Lelouch when he had discovered her strange liking for the straitjacket-like outfit she had been found in. Her clothes closely matched his own, a pearly white with golden lining down the chest, around the waist and weaving around the fingers of her gloves. On her shoulders was a small red cape that reached only to her shoulder blades, a mostly sardonic insult to his own superiority over her. But of course she knew that.

"Does this bother you?" C.C. asked, just as she did whenever anything unexpected came up. It was like a very unnecessary ritual that both were too acquainted with to give up. "He killed Nunnally. And apparently, he took your friends from you. This isn't about me anymore, Lelouch." She smiled mirthlessly, swatting his hand away when it went to move a single strand of hair over her shoulder to join the rest, and she did so herself. "He isn't after you to get to me anymore. He's after you because he has a score to settle with you."

Lelouch nodded, pulling on the hat on his head so that the awkwardly shaped thing would settle properly over his never growing hair – an unfortunate victim of his body's inability to age. "It is better that way," he said confidently. He dropped his arms after another moment of fiddling with the hat, letting his somewhat unkempt hair fall out from beneath it at weird angles. Only his natural ability to pass off even the worst attempts at proper care of his hair as passable efforts allowed him to save face, but the sour look that crossed his face momentarily broke the serious spell in their room, and C.C. found it in her to laugh at him. He smiled too, though his was far more feral and was born of far more sinister thoughts than mild amusement. "I will draw him out and deal with him at my leisure. Not having to worry for your safety makes taking care of him easier."

It didn't need to be said that this flattered C.C. in some strange way, and she seemed to be in no hurry to say so anyway. The way her eyes lit up ever so slightly at the implication that he truly cared for her wellbeing, which was more than could likely be said for just about everybody else she had known for a long time, was enough to tell him he hadn't blundered his words. But that strange, affectionate exchange would go no farther than that, as C.C.'s expression quickly turned into the smug, teasing expression that was just as awkward in the tense situation as her humor was. "If I recall, you required the aid of another back then. Are you sure you can do it alone this time?"

Lelouch's way with words was not a reciprocated talent, and C.C. immediately bit back the teasing remark that would have followed his response when he offered no response at all. In fact, her words had the opposite effect on him than was intended; he fell onto the bed, his shoulders slumped and his arms resting limply between his slightly parted legs. He kept his eyes on the ground so as to hide the anguish that wrought itself into his face against his will. "I will avenge Nunnally," he said firmly, but it was quieter than he had intended it to be. "I will not forgive him for taking her from me, just like I won't forgive the Knight of Ten for taking Clovis. Before I see things through, I will make sure Clovis and Nunnally are avenged. Otherwise, I will never be able to look my friends in the eyes again. I promised that I would protect Nunnally."

"Don't lie," said C.C. sharply. She dropped to her knees between his legs, placing one hand on either thigh while she softly pressed her lips to his. While Lelouch recoiled, her ever famous smirk returned in full force, and she pounced on his weakness. "You don't care what your friends will think. You care only for satisfying your own need to avenge them."

"Perhaps," Lelouch mumbled, too shocked to get out anything else.

"_We_ will see this through," C.C. continued, squeezing tighter and tighter on his thighs as she added more force to her voice. "You told me we are partners, allies... friends, right? We fight together."

Finally Lelouch managed the smallest of smiles, caught somewhere between a timid one and an ever widening smirk; clearly, C.C. thought, the conflicting thoughts in his head were running rampant. His hand moved to hold her cheek, stroking it softly with the pad of his thumb while he leaned in. At the last second he lost his cool, instead pressing his lips between her brows, letting them linger for a few drawn out seconds before withdrawing. "I will kill Mao. I will have him know the sort of pain he bestowed upon me, and then the Knight of Ten shall follow. Both will know what it feels like to know nothing but anguish, and sorrow. While I am sure Mao has an idea, I will instill him with that knowledge anew."

o---o

Todo cursed silently as yet another Longdan was destroyed by the fleet extended along the horizon in front of them. He had anticipated a difficult battle, and one that would all too harshly show Lord Kururugi what he had meant where fighting battles where casualties were nonexistent was naive. What he hadn't anticipated was the enemy fighting back so fiercely, matching their own efforts perfectly. Their battle plan depended upon being able to reach the shore with minimal damage to their own forces – otherwise they would have too few forces to overpower those defending the base itself – but now...

For the past four and a half hours, the Strait of Gibraltar had been a massive battleground unlike any Todo had seen before, even in his proudest days serving in the defense of Japan in the Second Pacific War. The line of ten Bismarck-class battleships, all of whom were armed just as well as the ship from which their class had been named, before them was none too easy to silence, and they vastly overpowered the Longdan's relatively limited weaponry. For the first time since he had taken to arms by the side of the legendary Zero, Todo felt as though their power wasn't enough. And after so long a time spent where their power had been superior to their foe's, the feeling of having to compensate for their lack of power was disconcerting and unfamiliar.

"More aircrafts approaching!" somebody shouted. From their position in the air, considerably higher up than any of their naval forces, they were still the primary target of the Federation's persistent aerial forces. The Lancelot and the Guren continued to hound them at every turn, but they could only do so much against so many. The troops they had placed upon the deck of the Hogosha were desperate in their efforts to keep the enemy away from the ship, though, and Todo was grateful for their presence. Else, the Hogosha would surely have joined her many comrades whom had already met an unfortunate end on the Strait of Gibraltar.

"Where is Lord Kururugi?" Todo demanded loudly. Why they so willingly allowed Lord Kururugi to run around on the battlefield instead of following orders was beyond him, and he didn't like the idea either. Unified strength could only come from following order, and Lord Kururugi had no mind for that. None of the United States' famed Five Knights did, save perhaps for Lord Gottwald.

"He is being held down further ahead! Lord Kozuki is surrounded as well!" Todo cursed vehemently. The idea of going out in the Shen-Hu to assist briefly entered his mind, but he refused to entertain such thoughts. He had more composure than that, to be so quickly drawn into the necessity to fight. He was not like Lord Kururugi, who found his only use to be on the battlefield. No, Kyoshiro Todo could be useful for a great many other things. He was a commander, somebody whom the Japanese saw as an icon of their resistance against Britannia from the days before Zero had appeared before them, throwing about convincing words and delivering shell shocking victories that none other could have been capable of. Unlike Lord Kururugi and the others with whom Lelouch placed so much trust, he was able to fill just about any role the army required of him. And as such, he could not simply run off and carry out his simplest of whims.

"Focus on the center fleets!" Todo shouted to whoever would listen and relay the orders elsewhere. "We break through and head for the shore. Worry about the rest of them then."

The Hogosha shook violently and rapidly as another shell crashed into it, exploding on contact and tearing ever so slightly at the exterior of the ship. Papers that had previously been resting on the table next to him – casualty reports and records of munitions from the rest of the army, one for each Longdan cruiser at their disposal – were sent flying all about him, landing all over the floor. While he set to collecting them and returning them to a proper order, the ship again shook and he crouched low to avoid being shaken by the blast. Several people cried out in surprise when it hit.

Todo turned to the man responsible for keeping watch over the happenings of the battle beyond the ship's hull, questions in his narrowed eyes. The man kept eye contact as he said firmly, "The enemy are focusing their attacks on us. We will be safe if we can drive through them, but..."

"The likelihood of breaking through before we're sunk is low," Todo finished, turning on his heel and returning to his station at the table in the center. "All pilots still on hand are to prepare themselves with proper infantry equipment and then report to their KMFs. Fit as many as we can on the deck, and start firing. If possible try to get word to Lord Kururugi and request aid, but I'll not place our hopes in him."

The ship shook again, though rather than it being from the force of an enemy attack, it was from the sheer force of the two cannons armed on the Hogosha as they fired. Todo watched with trepidation as the large shells arced downward, crashing into two of the battleships and exploding. Neither were destroyed, but the Hogosha and it's accompanying fleet found themselves spared from the destructive judgment of several of the two battleships' armaments, particularly their cannons and some of their turrets. Faced with the sudden counterattack, the enemy fleet began to part as the Hogosha began to lower itself closer to the water. Todo simply hoped they would be able to keep the enemy fleet at bay and keep them from turning the tide with the advantageous position they were being given.

While cheers filled the command center in light of their recent success in breaching the enemy position, Todo asked, "How long until we reach the shore?"

"Shortly, Commander," one of the crew members replied giddily, bouncing on the toes of his boots in his palpable excitement. "Shall we prepare our forces for deployment?"

Todo nodded, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb while he flexed his free hand's fingers. "Prepare Squads One, Two and Three for launch. Squads Four and Five are to remain on standby – this is to be relayed to all ships."

The crew member gave him a weird look, probably wondering why not all of their forces were going to be deployed immediately. With the situation as it was, one would likely have thought that a swift assault on the base would be ideal. But Todo knew better than to so recklessly send their troops to their deaths; the beach of Gibraltar was downhill from the base itself, and if the rumors stating that Schneizel himself was in command were true, than Todo knew that they would have Panzer-Hummel stationed along the hilltop to bombard them as they deployed onto the beach. It would be a race to the top that could not simply be fixed by sending out more and more combatants, and doing so would only invite further casualties.

While the crew member finally turned around and began speaking into the headset placed over his head, Todo waved over Ogi from his position elsewhere in the room. "Take care of things here," he said gruffly as Ogi approached, placing the papers he'd picked up along the table. As he left the room, he added, "Prepare the Shen-Hu for launch," over his shoulder, before the door shut behind him.

o---o

"Suzaku, to your left!" Karen cried, ducking away from another aircraft as it neared, rounds firing from it's guns all the while. Despite her plight, Karen was well aware that she was getting off easy when compared to Suzaku, who in the past four hours had destroyed no less than two hundred aircrafts and had to replace the Lancelot's battery twice. She'd just replaced her battery for the second time recently, but it seemed that priority dictated that the enemy focus on the Lancelot, and so she had been spared the overwhelming force that assailed Suzaku regularly. It had gotten to the point where they had both agreed to cut communications with everything but the Hogosha's command center and themselves, allowing them to focus on the battle as much as they would like.

Suzaku turned in the air and fired a slash harken to his left, while with his right hand he aimed and fired at another aircraft with his VARIS rifle. This was followed immediately by firing another shot at another aircraft as it passed through the lingering smoke from the aircraft that had been destroyed before it, while he grabbed one of his MVS with his other hand and swung at another aircraft, both of which were immediately replaced by another two aircrafts. His entire body felt numb from the stress of his fighting, endlessly striving simply to survive against the overwhelming force set against him. The need for rest grew stronger with every movement he urged the Lancelot to make, each motion drawing from the strength it would have required him to make the motion himself, as though the Lancelot were simply a suit of armor that impeded his own actions.

"There's no end to them!" he cried, pulling himself out of the path of another aircraft as it opened fire on him. As it passed he kicked out, tossing it aside with his foot. While the pilot tried to right himself, Suzaku swung down on it with his MVS. As per expectation, he immediately had to fire with his VARIS to fend off another aircraft as it drew closer. "How is the Hogosha doing?"

"Not good," Karen replied grimly. While Suzaku again dodged away from approaching aircrafts, she placed herself between them and the Lancelot, throwing out her claw arm and firing a Fukushahado wave, turning in place and destroying any unlucky enough to be caught within the wide radius of her attack. Explosions lined the horizon all across her field of vision. "How many more of these guys are there?!" she cried, when she saw that her efforts did little to dent the waves of aircrafts approaching from the base. Within a minute, the horizon was once again swarming with aircrafts, stubbornly brazen to the bitter end. Suicidal as well, though something within Karen felt sick acknowledging that detail.

Suzaku came up beside her with his Hadron blaster lowered along the outstretched length of the Lancelot's right arm, the wide, blue barrel already brimming with a blood red light. A moment later it fired, tearing into the approaching aircrafts like a knife through very warm, very inadequately armed butter. Like Karen he turned as he fired, letting the stream drag it's way across the horizon and once again dye it red with the explosions of their enemies. At least fifty good men died in that brief period of five seconds, a fact that did not go unnoticed by either of them. It was difficult to decide which was worse; the fact that Schneizel was willing to so casually send so many in a suicidal assault on the United States' two aces, or that they were able to kill so many without any feeling of remorse.

Down below, the twelve Longdan that comprised their fleet had formed into an arrowhead with the Hogosha resting slightly overhead, as though leading them like a needle on a compass. The daring armada was nearly within docking range of the shoreline, where the Hogosha would begin dropping Knightmare Frames in parachute variations of the Knightmare VTOL, and the Longdan would lay down their gangways for the Han-Shu to pour onto the beach. Already Suzaku could see the fruit of the Federation's labors; at the top of the hill where the base itself rested, Panzer-Hummel were forming lines with their cannons pointed toward the sky, likely having been carefully aimed to bombard the beach the moment their troops deployed. From there it would be a race to reach the top of the hill before the next volley, and by the looks of things, the sheer firepower the Federation had amassed would make matters rather difficult.

"Try to break through and attack their lines!" Suzaku cried, charging toward the base as fast as the Lancelot could possibly move. Behind him the Guren was following, but rising from the base was a fresh dispatch of aircrafts, and Suzaku doubted he'd be able to get through them and reach the base before his battery once again ran out. Karen seemed to understand this as well, and she began a descent toward the base while he continued toward the approaching line of fresh enemy forces. While he could count only ten, maybe fifteen, his radar assured him that there were more than fifty to be fought. Suzaku simply hoped that this would be the last of their air force; any more and he feared that they would overcome him with numbers alone.

Again he extended his Hadron blaster along the length of his right arm, closing one eye while with the other he took aim. With as many enemies as there were and with as much power as using the Hadron blaster afforded him – lacking the Gefjun disturber that the Gawain had been outfitted with, the Lancelot required far more power to use a stabilized Hadron weapon – he needed a good shot, else he knew he'd soon be doomed. As they approached, the aircrafts began grouping closer together, more than likely with the intent of fighting him as a group, like they had been doing all along. Suzaku smirked as that thought registered itself in his mind, moments before he fired. The concentrated radius of their aircrafts made the job of wiping them out relatively simple; in the wake of his Hadron blast, less than five brazen planes remained, none of which had the gall to face him as they were.

But even his finest efforts had little effect on the battle as a whole. Below, their fleet was already being put into a most dire predicament as they drew to a halt at the shore. The Han-Shu that drove out onto the beach and the Knightmare Frames being dropped onto the beach from the Hogosha were destroyed under a rain of shells as the Panzer-Hummel fired in unison, and even some of the Frames from the second wave suffered from the force of the Federation's assault. Those that survived lowered their landspinners and made for the hilltop, but finding proper footing in the sand was no simple matter and their progress was stunted further by the rounds fired at them as they drew closer. For the first time, Suzaku saw his own allies suffering from the sort of decisive destruction that they usually left in their wake.

The Longdan were faring no better than the troops they deployed. The battleships that comprised the Federation's navy had worked their way around to the rear of their own fleet, and had begun firing on the pyramid-shaped ships anew. Already three had been destroyed, and though the Hogosha had managed to turn itself around to try to fend off their assailants, the battle was decisively one-sided. Even if the Hogosha had the defensive capacity to hold it's own for a while yet, the same could not be said of their allies. Suzaku gritted his teeth, ultimately aware that the battle was a lost cause. But even if they could not take the base, he'd not let his allies die trying to take a base that could not be taken.

Moments before he could charge toward the enemy battleships, however, he was beaten to the punch. In less than ten seconds, two of the battleships had been engulfed in flames, consumed by two wide streams of black and red.

o---o

"Two battleships destroyed," C.C. said mockingly, her hands gripping tighter at her controls while the incessant tapping of Lelouch's fingers as he made precise altercations to the aiming of the Hadron cannons that only he could accurately make filled the air. The transport plane that had carried them to the battlefield was far behind, abandoned when it became apparent that they would be better off making use of the Gawain rather than relying on a much-too-slow plane for escorting purposes.

Though very surprised to see the despondent state of matters when they arrived, Lelouch had remained relatively indifferent to seeing his army on the verge of collapse. Their arrival had gone without notice on account of the Gefjun masking their signal, and Lelouch had decided instead to aim for the opposing fleet with the intent of decimating them before rallying his crumbling army and urging them forward. She had tried to reason with him, C.C. tried to convince herself, but Lelouch simply would not be dissuaded. He had arrogantly said that he could turn the battle around, unknowing or uncaring of the fact that C.C. knew he could and was instead more concerned about the repercussions of forcing his broken army to continue fighting.

"Meaning?" Lelouch quipped jovially, firing the Hadron cannons a second time. For the extent of their burst C.C. complimented his action by moving the Gawain ever so slightly, dragging the streams forward so that, aside from the battleship he struck, the streams tore into two others. Neither were hit critically enough to be destroyed, but neither had the means to do much more than ride the waves or charge valiantly at one of the Longdans and take it with them. Lelouch laughed all the while, insanely and without restraint, openly indulging in the destruction he wrought. By this time, the distant form of the Lancelot had turned toward them, but Lelouch paid his Black Knight no heed. There were more important matters than comforting his right hand for his failure.

Without Lelouch's urging the Gawain began descending toward what remained of the Federation's proud navy, loosing it's Hadron cannons once again in a proud declaration of the Knightmare Frame's superiority over all war machines to have come before it. The two flaming battleships exploded instantly on contact, while a third was turned into the smoldering heap of steel that the two before it had been. Lelouch needed not do a thing, allowing C.C. to hold all of the Gawain's power, if only for the moment. From his vantage point in the higher of the two seats in the large cockpit, Lelouch joyously drummed his fingers along the golden armrests to either side of him, grinning inanely and without care for those left in a see of flames below. C.C. surely had no smile to offer for the situation, but in light of her usual behavior, this detail was none too surprising to him.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku called, his voice ringing through the air through the Lancelot's communication speakers, eliciting a pitying groan from Lelouch – C.C.'s nearly inaudible chuckle was hidden in the midst of his dejected response. C.C. moved her hands when she felt the Gawain begin to move in a manner that wasn't of her own doing, allowing Lelouch to take control while she reclined into her seat and let her tired eyes droop. Lelouch meanwhile made it a mission of sorts to avoid Suzaku, focusing instead on the increasingly desperate situation their army faced on the beach of Gibraltar. On top of the Panzer-Hummel raining hell on them from above, the Avalon had risen from the base, and from it's catapult shot numerous VTOL, all aiming for a smooth descent toward the beach. Karen was harassing them as best she could, but what remained of the base's air force was holding her at bay. The Shen-Hu had also launched, to Lelouch's mild surprise, but with Todo as it's pilot, it was not the feared brother Knightmare Frame to the Guren that it had been considered to be with Xingke as it's pilot. Evidently, Lelouch thought, they needed his intervention to prevent them from facing annihilation.

Which was sort of amusing, he noted, in light of his subordinates' obvious attempts to grow less dependent on their savior. All the same he appreciated their efforts; he wasn't fond of the idea of ruling the world for eternity which, were the United States to retain it's pseudo-monarchy policy, he would be stuck doing. Sooner or later, they would need to be able to act without the need to run to him for help. But it was clearly too soon to expect such independence of the people he had brought to the highest reaches of the world with him.

Forcing himself to ignore the poor state his poorly coordinated troops were in, Lelouch landed atop one of the battleships, flinging the slash harkens in his fingers into the hull of the battleship. Lelouch's head swam from the force with which the Gawain shook as the battleship exploded beneath it, surging the large Knightmare Frame back upward into the air. While he tried to right both his senses and his vision, C.C. took control of the Gawain almost immediately and landed on the nearest battleship, repeating the process. As she brought the Gawain into the air again, Lelouch quickly threw up it's massive shield as a shell fired from one of the other battleships crashed into it's chest. Again Lelouch's head spun as the cockpit shook violently, but C.C. managed to stabilize them before it grew unbearable.

"Lelouch, we need to retreat," C.C. said gravely, concern evident in her mostly flat tone of voice. "If we stay any longer..."

"I will not give Schneizel this victory!" cried Lelouch. Irate, he took over the piloting once again, steering the Gawain away from another shell before firing the Hadron cannons again, this time letting both streams drive into the forward and aft of the same battleship, destroying it almost immediately. "Schneizel will not win, C.C.! No matter what I must risk," now he spoke quieter, voice little more than a deathly whisper, "I will see to it that I take Schneizel down here. I---"

He stopped suddenly, as the warning of an incoming signal displayed itself on his radar. He turned in place and threw up his shields just in time to block a sword as it swung toward his arm. The Knightmare Frame was not of a typical sort, if the Float System backpack spoke for anything, and it's unique appearance was not unfamiliar to Lelouch. It was the Vincent, the model he had previously thought to be unique for Rolo's use, with some slight changes. Notably was it's use of an oval shaped backpack with wings rather than the smaller backpack with four large, pointed wings that Rakshata had created, as well as the white color scheme that resembled Jeremiah's Edinburgh better than it did Rolo's Vincent. But the white color scheme rang out in Lelouch's mind like a blatant indicator, and his mind became clouded with overwhelming rage and emotion.

Lelouch pulled back, bringing his arms out in front of him and bringing the golden fingers to point. At once they fired, weaving around the Vincent with the intent of wrapping themselves around it. Lelouch would not have the displeasure of not seeing Mao's face as he died, not after all the anguish Mao had caused both C.C. and himself. No, Mao's death was one he would see with his own eyes, the tips of his shoes resting in the gradually growing pool of blood beneath his weakening body, leaving the stained ground with the memory of his presence. The mere thought made Lelouch so absolutely satisfied that all thoughts of the battle and of his allies' fates was forgotten. He knew only that moment, with the Gawain's fingers growing ever closer to binding Mao while he charged at the Gawain once again, his MVS glistening in the sun as it approached the horizon.

"Lelouch...!"

"Mao...!"

No matter what, Lelouch thought, one man would finally have their justice. And he couldn't help but laugh derisively at the thought of Mao winning, only to be denied his prize.

o---o

Night had fallen several hours ago, leaving the guards of the empty Sacré-Cœur Basilica for foes that, if they were even there, would likely go by unseen and undisturbed. Over nine hundred and fifty miles away, His Highness was still on the frontlines, where the world's bane Lelouch Lamperouge had taken command of his battered forces. What had initially been a relatively simple siege on Gibraltar had turned into an all out onslaught, with both sides attacking and withdrawing at random intervals. Thrice had the United States forces tried to breach their defenses both on the beach and in the air, ultimately repelled every time by the combined efforts of His Highness and Lord Mao, the latter of whom had rallied their air forces and had apparently taken to fighting the Demon King himself.

At least, that was what the guards on duty aboard the Avalon, just more members of the widespread and ultimately overshadowed guard network within the Federation of Europe, said. The battle should logically have ended hours ago, or so they said, and only the timely arrival of the Demon King and his equally demonic Knightmare Frame, the Gawain, had turned the tide even remotely against their defending hordes. That accursed Knightmare Frame, initially built by Lord Lloyd and under the watchful eye of His Highness, was the theoretical backbone of the United States' forces. Not even the feared Black Knight could measure up to the Demon King where raw destructive power and solid defense was concerned.

Ironic? Not really. Tragic? Maybe a little. They got their pay, and so things like ironic and tragic mattered to little. To them, tragic was having night shift guarding His Highness' quarters. The door might as well have been made of ice, considering how cold they felt standing near it. A feeling not unlike being in the presence of His Highness at any time, which guards all throughout the basilica feared as greatly as the much loathed night shift.

Tonight the night shift, a role that still needed filling even in the absence of His Highness, rested to two of the 'new recruits' – specifically, those who had not been serving His Highness prior to him surreptitiously conquering the Euro Universe. Unsurprisingly, the 'new recruits' were vastly outnumbered by the 'regulars' – they being the ones whom had betrayed Britannia alongside His Highness – on account of the shameless fear many held for His Highness, and it was they who got the more important duties. These days, those duties ranged from serving aboard the Avalon, where many of them presently were, to guarding the villas of influential figures whom His Highness considered to be worth his protection. They simply counted their blessings, thanking whatever deity they could that His Highness judged worthiness in talents and usefulness to his own aims, and not in money or political influence. Many didn't dare think what sort of nobility they would have to play bodyguard for, were that to be the case.

The front entrance was fittingly dubbed the birthday shift by most. There, it was the closest thing to heaven they got from within the depths of hell. The shift was relatively easy, with very little action – how many would-be assassins use front entrance, anyway? - and the cool night air soothed them in a way that an eight to twelve hour shift inside the basilica never could. It was there that one Simon Abel, a 'new recruit' who had been drafted into His Highness' guard after his father had been fired from his job working at one of the EU's recently demolished Knightmare Frame factories, had been assigned for the night. It had been a night he had been looking forward to for weeks, knowing that he had the next day off and could get some proper rest and quality time with his family before returning to the monotony of palace – basilica? - life the following day.

But Simon Abel, a man most knew to be of average height and build, with raven black hair that had only just begun greying with age, was not to be found. In light of this, the Captain of His Highness' guard, Captain Clause di Borden, had done a head count. When just one man had been found without a station to report to for the night, he had given the authorized decision for the guard in question to be run through protocols – as it would not have been the first time an assassin had decided to pose as a mysterious guard, and they dared not rule out the possibility even though His Highness was absent – and then placed on duty as Simon Abel's replacement.

And so it had come to be that one hour ago, forty seven year old Joseph Fennete had been assigned to the guarding of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica's front entrance. His hands were cold from holding a rifle in the chill night air, but he didn't even feel the slightest chill they should have offered. All he felt was the warmth of the blood that had stained them just two hours ago, when he'd taken to arms and murdered Simon Abel in cold blood for little reason other than a necessity to worm his way into His Highness' guard. Having only held a rifle before and never fired, his heart was still racing from the memory alone. And he felt sick, subjecting a family to the sort of anguish he had only recently learned he may have a hope of averting. Granted, it was that hope that led him to ruining another family for his own, but he felt sick all the same.

He didn't let it consume him, though. If there was anything favorable of what his daughter's friend was showing the world in his swift grasping of it's roots, it was that people changed when it came time to pursue what needed to be pursued. His darling daughter had described Lelouch Lamperouge, her longtime crush, as a kind boy, even if he was a bit cynical and none too arrogant at the best of times. He had a charm that could woo just about any woman without even intending to, and he had the sort of natural grace that, as irony would have it, she had described to be much too regal for a normal man. Shirley idolized the boy, placed him on a pedestal to the point where Joseph was about ready to take leave from work to go to Area 11, intent on offering his daughter's hand to the boy the old fashioned way – according to her, Lelouch was much too inexperienced and innocent to realize or pursue such things as love.

But he had changed. He had become a ruthless, masked terrorist. He had killed without remorse. He had raised an army and pacified the Chinese Federation, only to turn their nation into a base of power for his brazen march into Area 11. In less than a year he had turned the world asunder, removed Britannia from it's center stage position and placed himself in the Empire's place. He was a man to be feared, one whom the world revolved around, while he spun it on the tip of his slender finger. He was still charming, that much could be said simply by listening to the starstruck tales girls spoke of him in hushed tones, but he was a different man entirely than Shirley had made him out to be. And Joseph couldn't help but wonder sometimes, what would have become of his daughter had she pursued a romantic relationship with him, only to be dragged into his violent affairs later.

And in much the same manner, her father had changed as well. No longer was he the caring man who frowned upon the slightest injustice, the model father that had made his darling daughter into the wonderful person she was. No, he was now a murderer, not unlike the man whom had – hopefully, he didn't still – owned her heart. He had blood on his hands, and why? To save his daughter and her friends from the clutches of a man who he had once bowed to without a second thought? It was perfectly justified to him, but how was that any different than how Lelouch acted? Surely Lelouch thought what he was doing was justified as well, even if Joseph thought otherwise. They both had blood on their hands for different reasons, and neither could find it in them to grieve for those whom they had killed. In some twisted way, it was justified because it meant they hadn't lost anything. And that was what mattered, right? His daughter was one step to being safe, so it was okay if another family suffered to that end.

Joseph spat to the side, watching the white glob of his saliva make a satisfying 'splat' on the ground, much like a water balloon as it hits it's intended target. It seemed like a casual movement, and one the man next to him had done countless times over, but to Joseph it was a necessary movement to rid himself of these increasingly self-serving and disgusting thoughts. But they refused to leave his mind, preying on his every insecurity and replacing them with certainties. What ifs and whys became simple explanations – if he asked why a family had to suffer, his subconscious reminded him that his family would have suffered otherwise. He knew this wasn't right, he knew it was wrong, but he felt good telling himself that. The blood on his hands felt like it was worth it when he thought like that.

"Getting close to the turn of the hour," the man next to him said gruffly, slinging the strap of his rifle across his chest so that it dangled at his back without needing to be held. "I've got to take a piss. Keep an eye out," he added, and then disappeared inside the basilica. Joseph checked his watch, confirming the time while he straightened the hat on his head. It was now or never. Looking from side to side quickly, he paced silently into the basilica, turning off down a hall while the other guard continued forward, to where the first floor restrooms were. Joseph kept walking until he came to a flight of stairs, where he made his way up to the second floor as quietly as he could. The light boots on his feet thudded quietly despite his best efforts, but one would have to either be looking for such a sound or be in very close range to be able to notice his footfalls.

On the second floor there were several guards pacing the halls, rifles held tightly in their hands. It was a sure sign that there was something that required safekeeping on the floor, though Joseph had already been thorough in his investigation of the basilica. The holding room for the students was in one of the unused quarters in the east wing on the second floor, where security was at it's tightest. Here, Joseph knew that stealth was a needless asset – getting through unseen was impossible. Pulling the pistol slung at his side, he fired it at the nearby surveillance camera, only seconds away from spotting him at his crouched position in front of the glass doors that separated the staircase from the second floor's main hallway. It wouldn't take them long to realize that something was wrong, and then the guards on the first floor would be on their way. But if he could get the students to the third floor...

Joseph waited until the first guard on patrol was passing by, and then threw the door open and fired with his pistol. He thanked the mandatory – by Britannian military law, anyway – firearm training he had been subjected to annually for the last fifteen years as the round landed firmly in the side of the guard's head, killing him instantly. Checking his immediate surroundings, Joseph shot another surveillance camera hanging over an ornate door before he continued on his way.

After passing three more doors, all identical to the first, he came to a hallway that extended to the second floor pews of the sanctuary. Two guards were standing at attention, one to either side of the large double doors. They both looked extremely bored, one tapping his foot while he examined his rifle far too thoroughly while the other had his rifle dangling from his chest, leaning back and reclining against the wall. Neither would have noticed him if he were to keep to the wall, but Joseph wasn't fond of running that risk.

The decision on how to deal with the matter was relatively simple. Leaving his rifle where it was, Joseph waited until the more alert of the guard – the one inspecting his gun, as opposed to the insides of his eyelids – was all but burying his face in his rifle before he abandoned his cover. He fired once, and the guard flew back comically as the bullet landed in the center of his forehead, blood pouring from the small wound profusely. This alerted the second guard, but he didn't have time to remove his rifle's strap from around his neck before he too had a bullet lodged in his brain. The blue carpet beneath slowly turned red.

He ran across the now empty hallway, passing by more identically ornate doors and taking out two more surveillance cameras before finally coming to a halt in front of the second-to-last door on the same side that the hall leading to the sanctuary had been on. Far away he could hear the doors to the staircase he'd previously used slamming, and he knew that he didn't have the time to be standing there. Behind him were two glass doors like those to the stairs, and through them was a second staircase that would take them up to the third floor, where there were no guards on duty save for the ones guarding His Highness' personal quarters. And up there was a final staircase that would take them to the top of the entrance's overhang, where a helicopter piloted by one of his former work colleagues in Britannia was waiting for them. The difficult part would be getting that far with the entirety of the basilica's security following them, but that was the risk he was ready to take for his beloved daughter.

The door creaked softly against it's hinges as he pushed it open, taking care to look through the small opening before pushing it open all the way. The room was relatively ordinary, with a double sized bed in the middle and a polished wooden table to the right of the door, entirely hidden as the door opened. A window was placed over the bed, with a view of the night sky and the hill that lay beyond. And at the foot of the bed were the chairs that probably should have been situated around the table, one for each side of the square table and, apparently, one for each of the students held prisoner. Dressed in the same uniforms they had been taken captive in and looking none too fresh, the esteemed Student Council of the ruined Ashford Academy were seated, gagged by the mouth and with their arms and legs bound to the chair they sat in.

Shirley's eyes shot open when she identified who it was standing in the doorway, screaming muffled words into her gag. Joseph smiled serenely at her as he crossed over to her, pulling the gag down to rest around her neck but pulling her into a tight hug before she could speak. "I'm here now, Shirley," he whispered softly, running his hand through her hair. Her hair was somewhat oily and was almost repugnant to the touch, but Joseph was too far gone in the happiness of having his daughter once again in his arms to care. Just holding her as he was, he could almost feel the metaphorical blood washing from his hands. Knowing that he could once again hold his daughter as he was, any remnant guilty thoughts were banished from his mind. As disdainful as he was of the thought, he'd willingly kill again if it was for her safety.

"How did you get here, dad?" Shirley whispered into the crook of his neck, her head having moved to his shoulder so as to offer him enough mobility to remove her bindings.

Joseph didn't answer at first, busying himself with freeing her hands so that she could remove the gags from everybody else. When he was done that he retreated to remove the rope tying her legs, and he then said, "I did something awful, Shirley. Can you forgive me?"

Shirley leaned over the side of her chair to remove the gag from Milly's mouth before going to work on the rope tied around her wrists, taking the grim question in casual stride. "Of course I can, dad. What happened?"

Joseph resisted the urge to roll his eyes – had it been anybody except his daughter, he would have, for the question of what had happened was almost too obvious – and holstered his pistol, looking up at Shirley through his eyebrows while he continued to mechanically work on the rope around her ankles. "I've killed, Shirley. I have the blood of guards here on my hands – I killed out of a selfish need to save you. Entire families were ruined because I needed to satisfy myself."

"You had to, right?" Rivalz said the moment his gag had been removed by Milly, immediately going to work in turn on Nina's gag and wrists. "Otherwise, we would have..." He left the rest of the statement hanging in the air.

"That doesn't matter," Joseph said regretfully, wincing afterwards. He kept his eyes on his daughter, who's own eyes reflected both surprise and sympathy. "Justifying their deaths is not okay. I would be no better than everybody else if I did that."

"You mean Lelouch?" Shirley asked softly.

Joseph nodded. "I'll not judge him for following his heart, dear. But the time will come when the world will realize his that actions satisfy only himself."

Shirley slowly stood, releasing a shaky breath as the previously tight ropes around her ankles fell to the ground around her feat. Almost in perfect sync the rest of them rose, massaging either sore wrists or aching ankles while Joseph took his rifle into his hands, advancing on the door and checking to either side of it. The coast clear, he stood to the side and ushered the rest of them to the glass doors on the opposite side of the hallway, where the stairs to the third floor rested in plain view. "We have to get out of here before the guards catch up. Come on!" he said in a whispered yell, all but pushing Shirley out the doorway as she gave him a wondering stare.

"You left your job behind, didn't you, dad?" she asked as they went, throwing open the doors and stepping into the dimly lit room that acted as a go-between from the first, second and third floors. Although unnecessarily, Joseph turned the lock on the double glass doors before taking the stairs two at a time, careful to keep himself ahead of the rest of the pack while he thought best how to go about answering his daughter's question.

"I've had a lot to think about, Shirley," he murmured despondently as they ran, thighs burning as they rushed up the two flights of stairs that separated them from the third floor as quickly as they could. "You care about Lelouch, right?"

Shirley took a moment to respond, partly out of a need to consider a proper answer and partly out of a need to catch her breath as they reached the identical glass doors that took them out into the third floor hallway. "... Yes," she said sullenly, with her friends nodding their heads in reluctant agreement. Even Milly, known for being able to make light of a bleak situation, had a grim expression on her face, tousled and oily hair falling over it messily.

Joseph nodded as well, a soft, rueful smile crossing his lips. "Then we need to get ready, don't we?"

"For what?" Shirley couldn't help dumbly asking.

Joseph's expression turned sour as he noticed a guard patrolling, not having noticed them just yet, though he would shortly. Joseph threw open the door and fired, covering his chest and face with several automatic rounds. The guard made no sound as he dramatically crumpled to the ground, his upper body falling over his legs, which were splayed out at awkward angles to his front. Shirley gasped loudly at the sight, but Joseph threw one hand over her mouth to hush her while his other wrapped around her waist, urging her and everyone else to follow him once again."If Lelouch defeats Schneizel and conquers Britannia, the world will betray him. You have suspected this, right?"

"I have," Nina replied meekly, with an underlying conviction that spoke of the truth in her words.

Joseph nodded, grabbed his pistol and fired randomly toward the ceiling, where a small black semicircle loomed over them. The glass shattered and rained down on them, but a warning glance from Joseph silenced any surprised noises in their throats. "When that happens, what do you think he will do?"

Everybody, Joseph included – in spite of knowing nothing of the boy that wasn't already public knowledge – thought that question over for a moment as they walked, Joseph every now and then pausing to take out a surveillance camera or a guard, both of which would in turn bring out a surprised gasp or cry from one or more of his teenage entourage. By the time they had reached the opposite end of the hallway, three guards and four surveillance cameras later, none of them could come up with an answer to that question. And this didn't surprise any of them.

"We don't want him to die," Rivalz stated uncertainly, glancing from side to side from where they stood, a single flight of stairs keeping them from the overhang where a helicopter would be waiting to descend on their position. The looming threat of guards catching up with them and taking them all out was one that could not be ignored, and it was an unspoken worry that they all had.

"So we need to be ready to help him," Joseph said confidently. He ushered them up the last flight of stairs while he locked the doors, placing any objects he could find – two pot plants and a small, cushioned chair with a strange flowery design – in front of it to hold any pursuers back as long as he possibly could. He turned and ran up the stairs as fast as he could, waving his hand urgently for them to proceed onto the overhang, ignoring the idiotic fact that they had stupidly waited for him. "Go!" he shouted in a hushed tone, nodding his head toward the doors. They obliged him, with the exception of Nina, who remained in the doorway and held it open for him.

"Lelouch is wrong," she said as he passed, following him while closing the door behind him. "If the world is going to betray him, we need to convince him to atone. The Lelouch the world knows, the one that is so different than the one we knew... He would atone by dying. I am sure of it."

* * *

Forgive me if any of this seemed drawn out or, dare I say, pointless. That wasn't really my intention, but finally getting up to speed on Cal Reflector's Lelouch of Britannia made me a little self conscious where character development was concerned, and I decided I would benefit from a renewed effort to develop characters other than the main cast; Lelouch, C.C., Suzaku, etc. While this didn't change the direction this chapter had intended to go in, it did add a thing or two that will be getting previously unforeseen focus later on.

The primary instance would be with Joseph, I think. While by all rights he was an undeveloped character even by canon and I could have taken creative independence with him, it is reasonable to say his personality would at least somewhat resemble Shirley's, based on how strong a bond they seemed to have in the rare cases where it was brought up. That being said, I hope that I properly got across the message of his sudden development, because he will be an important character later on, as will the Student Council. I won't say where or why, though.

And again, sorry for the poor depiction of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. I have never been there, nor do I really intend to, and so my depiction is entirely fictional in nature, with exception to the exterior. I am well aware that the interior is likely not as large as I depicted it to be, nor that there would be a means to reach the entrance's overhang without crashing through the windows that can be seen there in pictures of the exterior. Where my depiction of the interior is concerned, it would naturally mean that the basilica is far larger than it truly is. But I took creative license here, so please bear with me.

At any rate, this was the first part of the theoretical conclusion to the Schneizel arc. Next chapter will be the final part of this battle, and then there will be a chapter or so afterwards that wraps things up, but after that the focus returns to Britannia, where we will be shifting ever closer to setting the stage for the climactic fight that every good Code Geass story needs. Or, in the case of this story, both of them.


	29. Doubt & Trust Part Two

Glad to see that last chapter was as good to you guys as it felt to me. In spite of trying to be humble, I was very pleased with last chapter, particularly my work in repairing my generally poor job with character development. I've actually been taking the time to reread my work lately, if only to see what I lacked then that I don't lack now, and last chapter was a far cry from some of my earlier chapters. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see how far I've come since May of last year, especially since back then I felt my writing was really good anyway. It's kind of cool to see how much better it's gotten over time.

And to NotAGunForHire, thank you for pointing out that blunder – though it should be said that, rather than being a blunder, it was a poorly remedied mistake. See, rather than doing revisions after posting the Document on as I often do, I did all of my proofreading from OpenOffice, and then uploaded it already revised and posted the chapter straight away. And because can be unnecessarily complicated, the barrier I'd placed between the story and the end of chapter A/N last chapter didn't show up in the posted version. It's fixed now, at any rate.

Anyway, this chapter once again has a couple things of questionable importance. This mostly stems from Euphemia, and my recent decision that her just falling off the grid wasn't a good thing. So yes, I am probably digging my own grave by adding such additional depth so close to the end, but I'll do my best to keep things under control all the while. I'm taking a liberty in this still being my first official work, so this is as much a concrete attempt at a good story as it is me testing the waters of my own writing talent. It just so happened that my first serious attempt ended up coming much farther than I could ever expected it to have.

* * *

Guinevere sat with her arms folded, right leg hanging over the thigh of her left, reclining in the seat that by all rights belonged to Her Majesty, and scowled. In the absence of an Empress the seat went to the eldest female relative of His Majesty, a fact that she all too gleefully accepted. When councils were held she was at her brother's side, the stern and watchful vision of scorn that his benevolence would have none of. Nobody dared try to walk over Odysseus, she knew, but if they had the slightest inclination to do so it was rended asunder by her presence.

None of this was reason for her scowling, though. Well, it could be said that her brother's nature had something to do with it, but that wasn't entirely so. No, the source of her frustration was the constant appearances of various military officials, all demanding military action now that Lelouch's entire attention was on Schneizel. First it was the Grand General, then the Commander-in-Chief, and now the Knights of the Round as well.

At present it was Gino Weinberg and Luciano Bradley, two of the youngest amongst the distinguished circle of soldiers. The former of the two was tall and slim, but with an authoritative setting of his shoulders that rivaled that of the former Emperor. He had a crooked smile in place even as he spoke of the most grim of tidings, with carelessly groomed blond hair that fell all over his face and swayed from place to place whenever he shook his head.

The latter looked like a sadistic murderer taken straight out of an overplayed horror movie. Like his comrade he wore a possibly permanently fixed smile, though his was far more depraved and originated from thoughts that only he could be thinking, of murder and torture that he took the utmost of pleasures in. His flaming orange hair stood straight up on end, with dark red highlights to the upright bangs that gave it a proper look of a raging fire. These details were all too fitting; as the Vampire of Britannia, his appearance was every bit as maniacal as one would expect.

"So, you want me to..." Odysseus trailed off as words began to uneloquently fail him, and he grasped his hair between his fingers and tugged lightly. "You want me to authorize military action against the United States? Break the agreements we so recently made?"

"What does time have to do with it, Your Majesty?" Gino asked, raising an eyebrow. "Their very existence is a testament to swift action, and we know that if we do not take action now, the moment to do so will never come."

"Oh? And how so?" Guinevere asked with a sneer. In her mind, she was thanking one of the age old Britannian customs for such a closely knit relation between the Knights of the Round and the nobility, such to the point that formalities were unnecessary. No, she could freely express her distaste for them attempting to uproot the foundation of her brother's ideals.

"Though it is a stalemate now, it will not be long before the Federation lines crumble. If the United States take control of the Gibraltar Strait, they will inevitably fall apart." Gino spoke with a determined sort of defiance that strongly contrasted his usually laid back and casual nature, and his eyes narrowed into tiny slits where they would typically be wide with innocent jubilance. "Like the Sakuradite resources in Japan, trade routes along the Mediterranean will belong solely to the United States. And has been made very clear, they do not intend to share their wealth with the world."

Luciano weaved a strand of his hair around two of his fingers, tapping his foot incessantly as Gino spoke. He rolled his eyes every so often for emphasis, and sometimes would go so far as to roll his head in a circle, cracking his neck. When finally Gino had finally finished his uncharacteristically serious speech, he appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Why he was even there, Guinevere didn't want to know. Surely for some reason that revolved around his need to satisfy that insatiable bloodlust of his. The one that had been sufficiently fed up until Odysseus' rise to the throne.

"At any rate," Odysseus sighed, tensing his shoulders and grasping hard on the arms of his throne as he slowly stood. "I am sure I can convince Lelouch to maintain trade with us, if only to avoid a depression. That aside, military response is not necessary, nor is it something I am willing to do to an ally."

Guinevere gave her brother a sideways glance and touched his hip with her hand, drawing his attention. "He made a good point though, brother. Lelouch's ceasefire with us is solely for his benefit, so that he may swallow the British Isles and corner us back to the lands of our foundation. Already we have lost much of our conquests either to Lelouch or to Schneizel; how can we expect to be respected beyond our borders if we do not attempt to fight back?"

Odysseus obstinately shook his head, billowing out his cape behind him and rolling his shoulders. "The root of the present conflict is Schneizel. While I would rather they settle the matter through diplomacy, I want the world to be ready to move into a diplomatic era when the war ends. No longer should change need to be dictated by warfare!" He turned to Guinevere and pulled her to her feet, holding her within inches of his own body. His eyes shown with an intensity that had remained dormant for far too long, in her opinion, and the sight of such a powerful man in her brother pleased her to no end. "For how many years have we fought, be it because we have needed to or because it has benefited us to do so?"

"For far too long," she replied rigidly and stupidly, determinedly ignoring the surprised and amused look in the Knight of Three's eyes and the casually observant look in the Knight of Ten's. She couldn't care less what they thought at that moment; she cared for nothing except enjoying finally seeing her brother become the man he should have become years ago. The sort her own husband would never be, the influential but otherwise pitiful man that he was. Ah, how wonderful it would be to see the man her brother had become in her husband.

"That is right," Odysseus said as he released her, turning in place to once again face his knights. "We will not fight. We will not join the race for land that my brothers are determined to continue. We will be a sanctuary of peace, and when the dust settles on their conflict, we will be ready! Lelouch will attack or Schneizel will attack – both are inevitabilities. And we will answer with diplomacy, not with swords or guns. We will settle our differences with words and open arms, not with soldiers and bombs. Not a month ago I lost my exiled half-sister to the flames of war, so remember her loss before you so callously request us to resort to military response!"

The entire room fell into a stunned silence as Odysseus finished his outburst. Nothing save for the soft sips of wine glasses being drained by now less than eager drinkers filled the tense air, and all eyes rested on the confident form of His Majesty, head held high with authority and his cape still flowing out behind him from dramatic gestures made throughout his speech.

Guinevere dared to admit that she loved every minute of it. Her brother was feared. Feared! So long had she known that her brother had the makings of a great Emperor, and her confidence in that belief had so long driven her to hope that she would ride his success with him. She had married out of necessity to compensate for her brother's longstanding shortcomings; a loveless and fickle marriage, made to secure an oath with some wealthy and prominent district in Area Six. The man was a weakling, somebody who had gawked openly at first meeting. He was disgusting and without merit, and would never own more of her than a hand to hold for the public eye, but it had given her the prominence she had hoped her brother would provide.

But now, she didn't need that worthless dreck of a man – his persistent attempts at coercing her into continuing his bloodline could be ignored in earnest. Her brother had finally become the man she had hoped he would, a man fitting of the throne he had inherited. With him in his rightful place she could live contently, sufficiently wealthy and with her position secure – but most of all, with the one person she held any emotional care for finally having risen to the heights deserving of him. Her smile was wide and from ear to ear, genuine and full of adoring satisfaction. She fell back into her seat an infinitely satisfied woman, grasping her own wine glass from a nearby table and sipping the red liquid casually.

These sentiments were not shared by many. Though the nobility and the Emperor's court had grown to at least accept his moderate stance, there were few who could deny a longing to return to the heights Britannia had been at prior to Zero's rise. The power they had now was grand, but Britannia had been so much more a year ago.

"I want to get into contact with Cornelia," he continued, ignoring the contemplative wheels turning in the heads of so very many. "Whether she is to remain with Lelouch or return control of the Tokyo Settlement to Britannia, it doesn't matter. But we need a go-between to establish commercial ties with the United States. We need to make the first step in trying to solve problems through diplomacy and words."

"Allow me to, please," a quiet voice sounded from along the forefront of the assembled people. Far along the line of the princes and princesses of Britannia was Euphemia, her pink gloved hands tucked away in the depths of her layered white dress. "I want to talk to my sister, and see... And see if there can be peace in all of this. I don't want to fight anymore."

Odysseus nodded, smiling broadly in his half-sister's direction. "I leave it to you, sister. Let's see if we can bring an end to all of this."

o---o

Monotonous, monotonous, monotonous. Cornelia couldn't stand the mundane work of politics, of matters that needed be solved with words. She had been born a fighter, and while the era where the use for such talents was drawing to a close, she had much difficulty applying herself in a realm beyond that.

It was a shame, really. Before long the war with Schneizel would end, and with any luck Lelouch would have the good sense to use peaceful means to put an end to their feud with Britannia. The last thing she wanted was to be forced to fight Britannia, after all. Fighting her father after all he had done was okay, but she didn't want to antagonize her country more than she already had by being swept up in things.

But she knew better than to hope for that. She had seen what Nunnally's death had done to her half-brother; good sense was not something he had any longer. No, he would use whatever means were necessary to achieve the ends that he sought, and he no longer cared what he lost in the process. Whatever change had made gains and losses so inconsequential to him, she didn't like it.

And whatever hope of him returning to normal had died with the revelation that, she could only guess, Schneizel had been responsible for Nunnally's death. That would be the only think that would explain his sudden decision to go to the frontlines in spite of all the operations in Japan's reconstruction that fell on his shoulders. These were what inevitably fell upon her shoulders now, and she was already trying her hardest to not be grudging.

But really, a base at Gifu? Other than being a go-between from Tokyo and Kyoto, she saw little purpose in the hasty construction of a base there. It was virtually in the center of mainland Japan, as much so as it could be were one not to consider Kyoto to be the center. And then there was to be considered the fact that not only was Japan an unlikely target of attack with the Federation held down as they were and with Britannia having gone off the grid militarily, but also that Gifu was an unlikely place for them to be attacked.

It made absolutely no sense to her. But then again, how much of Lelouch actually did make sense to most people?

"Your Highness," a guard standing outside her room poked his head in unceremoniously, taking more care than Cornelia thought necessary to not look anywhere but at her. "Lord Guilford and Lord Darlton are here to see you."

"Send them in," she said with a casual, but generally dismissive wave of her hand. The guard disappeared and the two filed in, Andreas first and Guilford close behind. Both looked far more lively than they should have, an unfortunate side effect of their recent inactivity. Incompetence and idleness were unforgivable amongst the Royal Knights and so they had maintained training sessions for the sake of that, but it had extended no farther than basic drills and mock battles either involving infantry or Knightmare Frames. Needless to say, their schedules had been unusually free of late.

"Your Highness," they declared as one, bringing their right arms up in a rigid salute. They had been far more understanding of her decision to remain with Lelouch even after Britannia's reformation than she had thought them to be – being loyal to Britannia first and her second, or so she had thought, it would have made sense for them to return. But no, they had understood her intentions, accepting her wishes and swearing loyalty to her all over again, in spite of Britannia being their home and Lelouch being the undisputed killer of five of Andreas' children – specifically, the Glaston Knights. The proud moment brought suitably prideful tears to her eyes as she recalled it, but she dismissed the bothersome things from her mind, and with them the threatening wetness beyond her lids.

She placed her elbows on her desk and folded her fingers together, resting her chin on the knuckles and regarding her two knights with an indulgent warmth. "What is it?" she asked, trying as best she could not to let on that the excuse to momentarily leave the mundane work strewn about her desk behind was refreshing. Unprofessional in every sense of the word, that's what that would be.

"We have an incoming call from Pendragon on the Emperor's personal line," Andreas stated evenly, but a small twitch in his lips was not missed – accordingly, Cornelia raised an eyebrow, added in a predatory smile for good measure, and urged him onward. "It is Her Highness Euphemia, and she wants to speak to you."

Whatever she had been preparing herself for forgotten, Cornelia shot upright and out of her seat the moment she heard her sister's name. She hurriedly pressed and held down the button on her intercom and rushed out, "Put me through to the Britannia Palace," as fast as her vocal cords could possibly form the words. She was dimly aware that her knights were still in place, watching her frantic movements with some surprise, but she didn't care at that particular moment. Hearing Euphemia's angelic voice, on the other hand, demanded her immediate attention.

"Sister?" There it was; that soft, serene and gentle voice of Euphemia Li Britannia. It was no surprise that she of all people was able to retain her identity in the midst of the widely spread chaos, remaining the epitome of all that is gentle and warm in the world. Cornelia couldn't help the smile that broke her face then. "Is that you, sister?"

"It's me, Euphemia," Cornelia quietly replied, sitting down once again and pulling her chair as close to the intercom as she could. "But why are you calling me? I..."

"I know," Euphemia replied just as quietly, though her voice was not tinged with the shameful regret that Cornelia's own was. "That doesn't matter."

"But..." Cornelia dumbly persisted. Subconsciously she was aware of how stupid and uncharacteristic she sounded but at that moment, with her younger sister's recently forgotten voice filling her ears so wonderfully, it didn't matter. Nothing did. She could abandon her strong front and become a frightened child, if that was what it took to hear her sister's voice again. It was pathetic, she wanted to tell herself, but the mere idea of it died a brutal death to the part of her that longed to be in her sister's company once again. Too long it had been, though in reality it had not been long at all.

"We don't need to fight," Euphemia said gently, so gently that Cornelia knew by inherent instinct that she didn't assume that Cornelia believed that very thing. "Let's end things peacefully, sister. All of us."

Sounding ever more like a sorely broken record, and one that must have had very little variety to begin with, Cornelia sullenly replied, "But we're not..."

With words no longer being Cornelia's forté, she instead cleared her throat loudly, conveying quite clearly both her confusion on the matter and her apparent inability to formulate proper sentences. "What do you... mean?" she managed to force out, more perturbed than anything.

"We need to stop fighting!" Euphemia cried. In her mind, Cornelia could vaguely make out a picture of a very heated Euphemia shouting the same thing, looking almost too adorable as she played a role far more serious than was the norm between the two sisters. "Our brother wants to end things peacefully! He wants Schneizel to be his friend, he wants to keep up friendly relations with Lelouch... Why do we have to continue to solve our problems through violence?"

Cornelia wanted to say that violence was the only way to put an end to violence – that was the thesis by which Britannia and all the world had run, after all. But then she remembered that no longer was the world Britannia's world, but Lelouch's world. The one he had taken by the throat and twisted to his liking. It was idealistic and quite possibly selfish, but his twists and turns to the world were what people wanted of it, right?

Right?

She sighed, trying to recollect her thoughts on the matter. Why did there need to be only warfare? Diplomacy was not a foreign thing any longer or, at the very least, it shouldn't have been. Words could be used now that the world had been changed, she was sure of it. That was what so many people claimed Lelouch had set out to do in the beginning. If that was not to be the case, then...

"You're right, Euphie," Cornelia replied, smiling indulgently. If Lelouch was no longer going to follow the promises he had made, she would have to make a few little changes to make sure that he didn't stop a good thing. If she couldn't trust Lelouch, then at least she could trust her sister. Together, they could do this. For the sake of Euphemia's smile, she would make sure the world became one for diplomacy.

If that was not ideal to Lelouch, than he would simply no longer be the one the world needed.

o---o

"Why are you alive?!"

The right fist of Mao's Vincent slammed into the Gawain's chest while one of the Gawain's long, golden fingers stabbed into the Vincent's shoulder, destroying one of it's factsphere sensors. The two held onto eachother for dear life as they clashed in the air, the Vincent with it's wide arsenal of weapons and the Gawain with it's natural defenses and powerful, albeit limited, weapons.

The Hadron Cannons were momentarily forgotten, primarily due to the fact that trying to use them at such close range and against such a fast Knightmare Frame was foolish. Instead Lelouch and C.C. focused on the Gawain's other weapons, C.C. piloting and using it's arms and legs however possible while Lelouch used the many slash harkens it's fingers boasted. These were nothing in the face of the spear, rifle and other weapons Mao had at his disposal, but they made do and hoped that Lelouch's quick wit and constant reconfiguring of the Gawain's defenses to suit the assault it took would keep them going.

It was growing more and more difficult to do so, though. In close quarters they had the advantage over Mao, as they were able to hold down his arms and render him virtually weaponless. But when he got to long range, where he could use his longer ranged artillery to pick at their defenses bit by bit, they were in much the same position. The battle between them was brutal and merciless, and it was more than Lelouch felt he could handle at times. Only C.C.'s constant presence, taking pressure from his shoulders, gave him any comfort whatsoever.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Mao cried shrilly, sounding like every bit the child his mindset suggested. He was older in a sense – and not in the sense that his body was several decades ahead of his mind – but there was still an inherent childishness to him, probably born of the insanity he had suffered at the hands of being unable to control his Geass, and later being left alone with that power. Before, Lelouch could find it in him to pity Mao for his grim fate. But now, when the man before him was responsible for the deaths of his friends and his sister, he felt no remorse. He felt nothing but the unyielding hatred that had spurred him to come to the frontlines in the first place, to satisfy his selfish need for revenge.

The Gawain's leg swung out and decapitated the Vincent's right leg, and before she could bring it back it was grabbed by Mao. Joined together once again, the two Knightmare Frames tumbled through the air while they clashed, fists throwing and slash harkens winding around eachother. Mao kept the Vincent's arms wrapped tightly around the leg of the Gawain all the while, making use of what weapons he could without them all the while. Logically Lelouch knew that Mao should have pulled away, but it was quite clear that Mao was not right of mind.

And for Mao, that statement couldn't have been more true. Every time he fought Lelouch, he reached out with his mind, desperate to use his dreaded curse to overpower Lelouch. But there were no thoughts to be heard. They were too high up to hear the voices of the soldiers down below, and the deathly silence was disconcertingly foreign to him. The vivid memory of his days in solitude with C.C., where there were no thoughts to be heard and to torment him, played itself in his mind. It was the exact same scenario, and there was only one conclusion to be made.

Lelouch had become a Code bearer, like C.C. had once told him that he would become! It hadn't been given by C.C., Mao knew that – he'd be able to hear her thoughts now if that were the case. No, there had been somebody else. And Lelouch had gone into this battle knowing that he was safe from Mao's mind games, knowing that Mao would probably make that assumption. Mao gritted his teeth at the thought that he was once again being played the fool, and held on to the Gawain all the more tightly as they clashed.

He would not be made a fool of. Not him! Not when he had come so far, endured so much, for the chance to get his revenge! If pride was all he had left, then so help him, he would cling to it. He would not lose to Lelouch here, no matter what. Lelouch had no advantage over him anyway; it was now an even battle where only their abilities mattered. If that was to be the case, he would have to win without his advantage. He could do that, right?

Lelouch growled low in his throat when Mao suddenly released them, sending the Gawain spinning uncertainly and unceremoniously through the air for several long moments. By instinct he fired the Hadron cannons, the streams twisting and turning as they spun, much like the turning of a flaming wheel. His instinctive action had the desired, albeit unintended, result though, keeping the Vincent at bay until they had righted themselves again. When they had they immediately began firing slash harkens, hooking one around the Vincent's left arm while another stabbed itself into the Vincent's only remaining factsphere sensor, effectively rendering Mao blind.

"You should be dead!" Lelouch spat, ramming another slash harken through the Vincent's only remaining leg; the apendage snapped off with a loud crunch, leaving in it's wake the semblance of a cripple who had his leg removed from the thigh down, with veins – or in this case, wires – poking out through the wound. Another dug into where the factsphere sensor over the Vincent's right arm had been, severing that limb as well. The crippled remains of the Knightmare Frame dangled helplessly from the slash harken wrapped around it's left arm, the golden digit digging into the joint of the arm lightly, but not without pressure.

"Me?" Mao cackled, but the childish jubilance that had scarcely been present throughout their fight had vanished entirely, leaving only a scathing rage in it's wake. "You are a demon! You took C.C. from me, you ruined my life! What I did was deserved!"

Lelouch's breath passed between his teeth and out of his mouth in a loud, audible even to Mao, snarl. His body shook with rage as he forced full control of the Gawain away from C.C. - she was indifferent to the matter anyway; she let it go willingly, though she did cast a worried glance to her partner – and dug the rest of his slash harkens into the Vincent. First the head, then the lower parts of the torso and what remained of the legs, and then lastly the left arm until all that was left was the chest, with the cockpit behind it, held up pitifully by the intact Float System backpack. "This is..." Lelouch breathed, the sound passing through his teeth in that same snarl, "... for Nunnally."

He pulled away from Mao just enough to give them breathing space, and after training his entire focus on that floating scrap of metal, he fired the Hadron cannons. One stream passed by harmlessly while the other tore through the cockpit mercilessly, leaving nothing in it's wake save for the fading sound of Mao's scream as his life was wrestled from him so painfully. Lelouch howled with laughter then, delighting himself in the wonderful feeling of revenge. His laughter reached out to anybody that could hear it, including several of the soldiers down below, but he didn't care. Never had killing been so rewarding.

"I've done it, Nunnally!" he cried to nobody except himself, leaning back in his seat and looking toward the roof of the cockpit. "You hated me, right? You never told me so, but I knew. You feared me, and you longed for the days when it was just us..." He sighed despondently, the fragmented remnants of his laughter distorting his voice into a rueful chuckle. "Those days are gone. The past doesn't matter anymore, Nunnally. For tomorrow, I have cut off one of my last ties to the past."

The only one left now was the Vampire of Britannia. That bastard Knight, the one who had taken Clovis from him. Lelouch's laughter died and his eyes narrowed at the thought, and he tightened his grip on whatever surface he could grab hold of while with his right hand he passed off piloting to C.C. again. He hung his head and sighed, speaking to C.C. in a whisper, "I can leave my past behind soon. Then, it will be only us. Alright?"

Idly nodding, C.C. focused on piloting. She had found it in her to pity Mao to the last, and while his death didn't truly bother her, the pity remained. They had a past together, forgetting the fact that she had abandoned him, and what should have been her responsibility had fallen on her partner. Lelouch was pleased though, and he was her partner – if he was pleased by Mao's death, then it was her duty to at least indulge in his happiness. She buried that pity away and smiled indulgently, listening to Lelouch's insane whispers of apologies and farewells to Nunnally, ignoring the growing feeling that it truly would be just them before long. Long before their current acquaintences were swept away by the stream of time, at any rate.

o---o

Suzaku winced in distaste as he fired one of his slash harkens from his wrist, destroying a grenade en route to their entrenched forces. He was still settled atop the Hogosha's deck, fending things off as best he could. It was not a simple matter, and while it was getting steadily easier to do, it was still a matter of immense difficulty to properly defend their forces.

By now, several had broken defenses and brazenly made for the enemy position. Some damage had been done and the enemy assault had suitably weakened, but the fact that their position along the beach was a permanent one hadn't changed. And though Lelouch had finally taken out that Vincent – had he heard laughter? Suzaku wasn't sure – he had made no move to aid their forces, instead setting off to assault the Avalon as it ascended slowly into the sky above the base's center.

Needless to say, it was clear to Suzaku that Lelouch had no intention of coming to their aid. As far as he was concerned, they were probably little more than collateral damage in his quest to satisfy himself. Lelouch had come, virtually usurped command of the army in a manner that suited only himself, and then when his whims were met, he went off and did whatever he liked. And left behind were the rest of them, fighting a losing battle that their miracle-making leader had no intention to amend.

The Guren sped by overhead, it's claw arm pointing downward and a radiation wave surging from it in a protective circle as it flew within range of another volley of rounds, all of them exploding harmlessly as they were heated by the protective shield wave. This left her virtually face to face with three Panzer-Hummel, and she effortlessly turned in place and used the wave to melt a barrage of machine gun fire before setting off high into the sky again. Her ace status amongst the United States army was very well earned.

"Karen!" Suzaku called, activating his Float System and speeding off the edge of the Hogosha, diving down at one of the Panzer-Hummel and kicking off it's right arm as it lifted the arm to fire at the Guren. He all but backflipped in place to avoid fire from another Panzer-Hummel, attaching his Hadron blaster to the barrel of the VARIS rifle and firing into three of them from close range before pulling up and away from the growing intensity of the firepower being rained upon him.

Karen hummed questioningly as she descended by his side, using the protective wave of her radiation as a shield from any firepower that still dared to assail them from so high up. The most of the enemy had gone back to focusing their attacks on the Knightmare Frames lining the beach, but the second line all had the machine guns on their hips pointing upward, as well as their cannon-mounted arms, aimed at the two of them.

"Lelouch has left us for dead," he said grimly, but he was careful to keep any anger out of his voice. "We need to get to the top of the hill before they kill all of us, and he's in no hurry to help us."

"So I see," Karen deadpanned, directing her attention briefly to the distant shape of the Avalon in the sky, guns firing while the massive form of the Gawain took all of the assaults against it's massive shield in stride, then firing it's Hadron cannons. One stream hit the massive cannon over the command center while the other hit the linear catapult, destroying both and setting aflame the area where they had been. The Avalon was completely helpless to Lelouch's heated assault, and the annoyance provided by the aircrafts that had been launching from the Avalon up until the destruction of it's linear catapult – and probably the entire hangar by extension – was minimal. Lelouch was single-handedly grabbing Schneizel by the throat, without a care for the men he was leaving for dead behind him.

Where had Zero gone, the enigmatic man who she so greatly and unconditionally respected? Karen frowned petulantly, but refused to comments on the matter.

It was an unspoken agreement between them that something needed to be done about this. Together, they descended toward where the lines of Panzer-Hummel were assembled. Karen immediately set into tearing through them with her Fukushahado wave and her slash harkens; Suzaku was close behind, simultaneously urging Todo to join them in their brazen efforts.

As soon as the order had been passed along for Todo to assist them, Suzaku began attacking in earnest. He drew away from the enemy lines long enough to reconnect the barrel of his Hadron blaster to the VARIS rifle, took aim with a brief moment of concentration, and then loosed the destructive wave along the first line of Panzer-Hummel. Several hurried to scatter away from the assault, but those closest to the ones that were hit first were doomed before they even tried to move. When the stream finally faded to nothingness, four Panzer-Hummel had been turned into burning heaps of metal, several others had nothing left to prove they'd been there in the first place and the entire first line, the one most responsible for the havoc wreaked upon their forces, was in complete disarray. Those who had survived his assault, a scattered group of about thirty Panzer-Hummel, were dispatched in relatively swift order by the Guren and the Shen-Hu.

"Charge!" Suzaku shouted, unsheathing both of his MVS and lunging at one of the Panzer-Hummel, cutting it in two before turning about and repeating the process on another. "Get to the top of the hill before they reorganize! Fight for your lives!"

A deafening affirmative from the many soldiers below rang out, loud and piercing as suddenly the many Knightmare Frames roared to life, Han-Shu and Akatsuki and Gekka numbering nearly sixty. The numbers had been far more plentiful before Lelouch had unceremoniously abandoned them after ordering them to fight a battle that shouldn't have been fought, but Suzaku was determined to make sure what was left of their decimated army see this battle through, for the sake of the many that had lost their lives to a poorly made plan and Lelouch's selfishness.

Suzaku twisted and turned in place as he swung and swung, cutting through one Panzer-Hummel after another while Karen kept close by, picking off what he couldn't see at one moment and defending him with her radiation shield the next. Within moments their allies were by their side, joining the battle truly for the first time since they had landed on the beach many hours ago. The Federation lines were crumbling quickly, but that wasn't enough for Suzaku – no, he was determined to see the base taken by their hands, not Lelouch's self-minded assault on the Avalon.

"King Lelouch has tasked us with taking the base!" Suzaku declared, deciding it best not to discredit his friend's authority, no matter how much he doubted it himself. "We have now the opportunity to do so – attack! Show them the strength of our determination! Show them our desire for our ideal tomorrow!"

A collective battle cry rang through the air as their forces rushed headlong into battle all over again, spurred on by their desire to succeed after being held down for so long. Some were the overzealous Japanese that had comprised the Order of the Black Knights and some were the dedicated Chinese that largely made up the Empire of China's Anti-Britannian Front, but neither were lacking for the dedication that made the United States' military forces so powerful. Their likeminded desire to see Lelouch's promises a reality, the connecting point in all of their efforts, made them all one collective effort, rather than the differing nationalities that they otherwise would have been.

Suzaku stayed back for the most part, allowing himself to momentarily indulge properly in his role as commander. He set up a private channel with Karen, who immediately began speaking once it had been opened, "You don't want to let Lelouch claim this victory, huh?"

Suzaku snorted derisively, holding back any bitter comments on the subject. "Lelouch is here for self-satisfaction – for all intents, I'm still in command. Lelouch will not claim a victory for his selfish satisfaction."

Karen immediately voiced her agreement, though in less pleasant terms. Again the ensuing silence spoke for what had been left unsaid, and Suzaku focused on the battle taking place then and there. The base itself was finally under proper assault, and the minimal defenses left at the base itself were being taken care of with relative ease. Their initial battle outline had been to leave the base itself intact for their own future use, and that was being upheld so far. Beyond that, Suzaku allowed himself to hang back and direct the battle via his radar, which was a lesson he desired to learn from Lelouch in full sometime soon.

"Karen, move to assist the Fourteenth Division!" he called out, watching as the group of Han-Shu in question were making their way around one of the hangar-like buildings situated in the base's center, toward the western side. Lying in wait were several signals, and while Suzaku was confident they would be able to hold their own, overcoming Lelouch left no time to spare – they couldn't afford to be held down at any point.

Karen did as he ordered without so much as a word of response; not even an acknowledgment of any kind, just the confirmation of her signal moving as he directed. Shortly after the signals of the Federation Panzer-Hummels lying in wait were lost, and Karen wordlessly departed elsewhere. By all rights, her status as the Red Knight gave her free licence to do as she pleased on the battlefield unless Lelouch himself was in command, but she had the good sense to follow orders if it benefitted them, and for that Suzaku was grateful.

The fight continued and Suzaku continued to direct the troops as necessary, and for the most part it went without incident. Todo was needed to reinforce the Eighty-Ninth Squad when they were held up investigating the eastern hangar, pinned down by a bottlenecking group of Panzer-Hummel that made it their personal mission to keep the group of Akatsuki out of the hangar. Karen was needed on two additional occasions, once to aid the Eleventh Batallion of the Third Division's remnants when it was sorely outnumbered trying to follow orders with only three Han-Shu, and again when the same batallion was cornered by zealous squad of Panzer-Hummel that broke out of a second hangar in the northeastern corner.

Suzaku sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he gently urged the Lancelot across the ground toward the hangar on the western side, where Todo had suggested they gather their forces before dispatching sweep forces to ensure the Federation forces in the base had all been suppressed or had surrendered. The battle was not quite over, but Suzaku was pleased that they had so swiftly taken care of the situation. And they had done it without Lelouch's guidance, which was a major step that they had needed to make as an army.

Now Suzaku just had to see if they could afford to follow Lelouch at all. Was it still wise to do so? Were Lelouch's wishes still the same as their own? And what was he supposed to make of Lelouch's selfish impulses? There were so many questions he still needed answered, and Suzaku was dismayed to admit he was growing less and less sure of the world Lelouch would create. The world Lelouch would create was seeming more and more like one that would satisfy only himself.

o---o

It seemed that, despite their best efforts to the contrary, the higher powers of the world still wanted Lelouch to carry their will. Schneizel couldn't fathom why, of course, but he relented to that inevitability the moment he saw how easily Lelouch turned even a doomed situation against them. Granted he had left his army for dead, which Schneizel made sure to note for later consideration, but the fact was that he had turned defeat into victory in some manner.

"The fires at the hangar have spread! The fourth floor corridors are inacccessible!"

And to make matters worse, after such a bright lifetime, God's platform would finally fall. Avalon, known by those who chose to dig into the roots of the name's origin, as the sacred land where King Arthur's fabled Excalibur had been forged in times that may or not have been. The Historia Regum Britanniae detailed it also as being where he was taken following being mortally wounded in battle with his nephew, Mordred.

Ironic, wasn't it? Mordred, the traitorous and calculating thief of King Arthur's throne; Arthur, the wielder of justice who died delivering justice. True it was that in the reincarnation of this tale that was being made, Mordred – Lelouch – did not die, but King Arthur appeared to be going down with his sacred island. Schneizel smiled ruefully and tensed his muscles by grabbing onto the arms of his seat in the command center, bracing himself for the steady fall of the Avalon as it neared it's end bit by bit.

Granted, the brave man-with-his-ship act was a sentiment not many held, if only for the reason that it was immensely stupid when, with a little work, they could probably survive the ordeal of the Avalon's fall to the ground. Now this was complicated by the hulking and threatening presence of the Gawain, it's Hadron cannons still very poised to strike, and quite visible from the front windshield. Lelouch had made no effort to contact them thus far, and Schneizel doubted that talking to his half-brother was high on his list of priorities after having just avenged Nunnally.

That was another matter to be considered, even though it was hardly the time to do so extensively. How did Lelouch overcome Mao's ability to mind read? Had he surpassed the limits that even Mao thought he'd set? It seemed unlikely at first, but Schneizel knew just how little he truly knew of matters involving this 'Geass' and other such abnormalities. It could be very possible, for all he knew. And that was a scary thought to be acknowledged.

Lloyd had already prepared aircrafts for his escape and for Cecile's – it had been decided, for some odd reason, 'that science didn't need to die with the Avalon' and Schneizel, for an even more strange and inexplicable reason, had agreed. They had already made their escape by blowing a hole in the back of the hangar and having Cecile carefully pilot the plane through the awkwardly shaped hole it made, but now that the hangar was aflame such a performance could hardly be repeated. Not to mention it would take far too long to find a plane that was still operational after Lelouch's vicious assault on the linear catapult, and they hardly had time to spare.

"Your Highness, we found an escape route!" a soldier shouted as he rushed into the room, taking a passing moment to bring himself to salute before breaking it again. "The medical wing was breached during the last Hadron blast; if we can get the survival equipment from the remaining planes in the hangar, we should be able to escape!"

The growing sinister side of Schneizel, the one that saw this as a live to fight another day opportunity, promptly thought, _That should make a nice diversion._

"Very well," Schneizel said as he stood, immediately grabbing onto the wall as a slash harken dug into the Avalon, dangerously close to the command center and with the added effect of making their descent that much faster. "All soldiers on hand, with me to the hangars. Everybody else, get to the medical wing and sit tight."

Schneizel walked out the door calmly with six soldiers walking close to him on either side and behind him, all holding rifles to their chests and trying their best to maintain blank faces despite their obvious fear of going down with the ship. It didn't help that the once safe haven had become a flaming mess, and that simply walking it's corridors could be dangerous.

Scratch that, Schneizel thought bitterly as he sidestepped a threatening piece of metal sticking out from the wall, definitely dangerous.

From then on, the soldiers took position in front of him as they continued to make their way to the elevator leading to the fourth floor, where on the east wing the hangar was waiting for them. The way was sure to be relatively safe, mainly because their route of choice was behind the command center and since it had yet to be hit, it could be safely presumed that this area too was safe.

The only problems to be found before they'd reached the fourth floor were several other cases of metal sticking out from the walls, probably collateral damage from the hard hit the east wing had taken when the linear catapult was destroyed. In an exaggerated effort to prove their loyalty the soldiers would tear out the metal and toss it aside, leaving the corridor safe for his own passage. It was highly unnecessary, but his soldiers knowing their place and what their duties were in practical situations was a good thing.

It just needed to be reminded that this wasn't a practical situation. They were made quite clear of this when, as they were getting on the elevator, a large beam of metal fell toward them from the gangways above. It clanged to the ground just as Schneizel got out of the way, but it was an unspoken thing that from then on, carrying out the insignificant duties of a soldier that would have been important otherwise was no longer necessary.

Things got truly hectic once they were off the elevator and on the fourth floor. True to what had been said, the corridors were glowing with various hues of red and orange from the fires slowly building throughout. Pieces of metal were strewn about without any rhyme or rhythm, and climbing over them was just an added annoyance to the annoyance of trying to resist the scalding heat of the flames all around them.

The heat bit and lashed out against him all the more fiercely the closer he got to the hangar. Sweat began to line his brow and he could feel it clinging his clothes to his body, reluctant to part with the last defense his flesh had against the biting and lashing of flames against it. His hair shone both from the firey hues and from his own sweat, likewise clinging to his head with a vice-like grip. The heat truly was unbearable.

A rush of heat unlike any they had felt before struck out at them as the door to the hangar hissed open, revealing a burning wasteland of scraps of metal, charred objects and half-standing planes. Some seemed operational, and Schneizel was quick to locate one that appeared to be functional. The soldiers filed into the room carefully, rifles held out and kicking aside anything in their paths. For them, this was a mission to secure items needed for a safe escape; for Schneizel, it was a mission to carefully make his escape, following Lloyd and Cecile toward the location they had decided upon earlier.

"Check over there," Schneizel firmly ordered, pointing far away from the plane he had designated. The troops all nodded and proceeded thither, blissfully unaware that they would be too late to stop their Lord from making his daring escape. He strode over the plane and through open the cockpit, climbing in and shutting it silently over his head. He began reading and flipping switches, periodically checking to see if the soldiers had noticed his seemingly inexplicable disappearance. Finally the plane began roaring to life, which brought the soldiers' attention to him, but they were too late as he flung the plane through the opening nearby, falling toward the sea until finally it properly came to life and took him high into the sky.

Behind him, the Gawain dug more and more of it's slash harkens into the Avalon, like a Kraken enveloping a ship at sea. The Avalon looked like little more than a fragmented mess of the proud vessel it had once been, and Schneizel winced sympathetically as it finally exploded, sending the Gawain hurtling away from it in a spin. Many proud men had just died, but they would be avenged, eventually. For now, Schneizel focused on getting himself to safety, where he could properly begin planning for the new tomorrow, when finally the world decided to discard Lelouch.

For now, he would hide. It was the only thing he could do.

* * *

So, this wasn't so bad, for a 2nd part that was hardly a 2nd part at all. We had some drawn out examples of people growing discontent with Lelouch, not that the hints haven't been there for a couple chapters now. There was a bit of odd hinting at a Guinevere/Odysseus pairing, but not really, and it was an amusing impulse and me getting swept up in writing that scene more than anything. At any rate, it was fun to hint at that a little bit, though it won't be going anywhere unless I have a strange impulse to bring it up again.

Not likely, though my disturbing like for the whole concept of forbidden love may give it another mention or two. We'll see.

And as we can see, the story finally has an ending in sight. Lelouch has had his pseudo-rags-to-riches tale of epic conquests, he has turned the world upside down and avenged (killed) his mother. What's left? Ah, yes: being brutally stabbed in the back. Will he actually be stabbed in the back? Am I hinting at this with all this talk of people being disillusioned with Lelouch for nothing? Well, keep reading to find out, if you really care. I won't actually tell you, but if you've actually been reading my A/Ns from the beginning and know me as a person even the slightest bit, you know what the answer is.

Really, only one satisfies the many of us who love Lelouch.

This chapter was mostly written while listening to TM Revolution (those of you who don't know who the great Takanori is, he did opening and insert themes for Gundam Seed, and much other amazing work that I won't bother to list – sadly, most people would remember the one I did mention first), which was an interesting change in tone from the usual theme I tend to take with this story. Specifically, I tend to listen to the darker sort of music that one would associate with Code Geass (Mosaic Kakera – Sunset Swish, anything Ali Project, and on account of two MADs, Doubt & Trust – Access and Empty 96 – UVERworld), so this chapter was a bit of a different feel for me. If you can tell the difference, don't hesitate to let me know if the moderate change in theme was a good thing or not; I think it suited this chapter, but to make it a lasting thing is something I'm not sure of.


	30. Deceptive Games

Sorry to disappoint some people (Lord Edric comes to mind), but this chapter is relatively tame. It's a necessary bridge before we head on over to finish things off in Britannia, tying up what loose ends are left of the Schneizel arc. As such I presume it will be relatively boring for some of you, but bear with me because afterward we have a battle that could measure up to the Tokyo Settlement battle (the first one) in epicness.

This chapter, by comparison, doesn't really have much to offer. There's the political side of things that needs to be addressed (else I wouldn't be doing my job or portraying the United States properly as a union of nations, would I?), and there is also our fun return of Jeremiah, whom I have missed writing in earnest lately. After that we have one more chapter wherein we will deal mostly with Britannian politics and tie up what starts in this chapter, and then we have the epic battle I have promised. Where do things go from there? Well, that's the secret you'll need to keep reading to find out, isn't it?

… Well, these were my initial plans, anyway.

Midway through this chapter, I came to the conclusion that this chapter was far too lacking in substance and was, for lack of a better word, terrible. Some of this will still hold true, but I accordingly made the decision to merge this chapter with the next one to make one massive prelude to the final battle in Britannia. This means that next chapter will be part one (of three) of the final battle – not the final battle entirely, just the final one in Britannia - rather than that being two chapters away as I had planned. Sorry if this feels like a sudden thing, going from one battle into another with only a chapter to separate them, but I didn't feel right making so many little hints to the nature of the final battle and then not delivering on them. Not only did it feel like a slap to the face, it felt like it was too many hints for it, taking away from possible surprise in the next chapter. After all, half the mystery in the final battle was going to be unveiled in this chapter anyway.

Hopefully this works for everybody, because it makes the chapter better as a whole, I think. This doesn't spare this chapter from the general failure that was the original Chapter 30, but it does give the chapter a Yin to it's oh so terrible Yang.

* * *

It reminded him of their conquests in China, watching from the command center of the Hogosha as they landed in Paris. In the distance he could see the temporary palace Schneizel had made his own, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica resting atop the hill Montmarte. People gathered around the procession of Knightmare Frames, gathered along the sidewalks and hanging off of lampposts in their attempts to get better attention from their savior, their rejoicing cries ringing loudly through the air. At the head of the procession were the Lancelot, Guren and Shen-Hu, the feared judges of Lelouch's vast army; or so anybody would say. Any animosity the people may have felt for him was erased the moment they were spared from Schneizel's mysterious tyranny; like his conquests in China before, the people rejoiced his arrival.

Lelouch felt immensely pleased with himself. He had finally avenged Nunnally's death and eliminated one of his most painful thorns, and he had brought to kneel the Federation army. Suzaku had done far better than he had anticipated, and as soon as they returned the Black Knight would be getting due recognition for his heroic services at Gibraltar. Schneizel had escaped, or at least Lelouch assumed so by the aircraft he'd seen fleeing as the Avalon was destroyed, but that was a minor thing at best. Without his power, Schneizel would either fade away or run back to Britannia. Neither concerned him.

The battle that had ended early in the morning, just shy of 5 am, two days ago was devastating both to them and to the Federation. Their casualties according to final report had rested at over one hundred deaths, and the loss of a large portion of their Knightmare Frame supply. Replenishing their supply of the robotic weapons was already done thanks to the constant production of Knightmare Frames from both Japan and China, but the loss of lives was something to grieve over, even if it was vastly lower than the typical casualty listings known in the era before Knightmare Frames replaced wave after wave of soldiers.

Conversely, the battle had marked the end of the Federation's existence. With their victory at Gibraltar, full control of the Mediterranean sea had allowed African forces along the border to cross the Mediterranean to the Iberian Peninsula, where the member states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra had betrayed the Federation and entered the United States yesterday. The United States forces not directly under the authority of the Anti-Britannian Front were steamrolling through Federation territory, turning heads to their side hither and thither.

Lelouch tried not to smile as he thought of how close he was. Not just to avenging Clovis, though that was a pleasant thought, but to completing what he had set out to do. Pacifistic or not, he would not let Britannia remain in the way of a truly peaceful tomorrow. True peace would not last so long as they were independent of one another – Odysseus alone did not a peaceful country make. Inevitably, there would be conflict between them at some point. But better sooner than later, right?

"You see this, C.C.?" he asked rhetorically, looking down slightly and to his left at his partner, standing rigidly with her arms to either side of her, hands balled into fists. "We need to see more of this."

"Hmm?" she hummed absently, meeting his eye with the corner of her own. "It isn't over."

"I know," Lelouch replied mildly, smiling indulgently. The tight fitting, white suit he had chosen as his obscure outfit before leaving was still on, drawing many a raised eyebrow from those around. The red eyes that covered it seemed to glare at the people around him, and so while he did draw much attention with his outfit, it was not commented upon. "These people were not alone, but all the same they suffered, so much so that they called out to a demon for salvation. They are the sort I can sympathize with, the sort I want to protect with the world I will create."

"You said from the beginning that you wanted to protect the weak," C.C. remarked dryly. "Can you still promise that your future will be right for them?"

Lelouch scowled down at her, but both were aware that he had no response to that. It was unspoken, but not unacknowledged, that they were both aware of his steady changes, how his once warm heart for those who had suffered like he had was now a cold block of ice that promised warmthless protection. How his entire being, once recognized as a beacon of salvation for some, had become a demon in human form. People still reached out to him, but those who did were growing fewer and fewer. The days when the world begged for his presence were fading away, bit by bit, and they both knew it. And in Lelouch's case, he welcomed it. Tomorrow would have no place for an immortal overlord, after all, and the sooner the world aid him in removing that possibility the better.

"This world won't need me soon," Lelouch told her in a whisper. "I will unify this world, and then I will give it to somebody else. I can't rule this world as an immortal."

Nodding, C.C. whispered gratefully, "At least you understand."

The question of who could rule in his place went unanswered because, and they both knew this, he had no answer. The world would fall into chaos if somebody were to virtually usurp his work, and even if he willingly handed it over, that would be what the world would see it for. How could they be expected to elect a King that had done nothing but be judged worthy of the position by Lelouch? It was a matter that needed solving, and one he hadn't thought about because of the suddenness of the Code being forced onto him.

But he was grateful for it. With it, when all was said and done he could watch the world, to make sure it remained peaceful. And unlike C.C., who had been alone for so many years, he would have a partner to survive eternity with. He and C.C. would not be alone, as they both had been prior to their meeting. And with his witch of a partner at his side, Lelouch was confident that living would never grow tiresome for him. There would always be something for tomorrow, something to look forward to. Even if time ceased to pass for them, they would still see it's passing, like onlookers looking through a glass window.

"Bring the prisoner here," he called to nobody in particular, returning his attention the the populace below. They looked so happy, blissfully ignorant that they had unwittingly struck a deal with the devil. That they were rejoicing the arrival of a man quite possibly more terrible than the one they'd been saved from. That the very man who's name was called with adoration and fanatical devotion was a man so tormented, so very tormented, that it was nigh impossible to imagine.

"What do you want with him?" Ogi asked tersely.

Lelouch glanced back at the man standing in Lelouch's usual space in the center of the command center, judging the importance of his answer in Ogi's eyes. "By proxy, Kanon Maldini is probably Schneizel's successor. If we want things here to end swiftly, having his help in getting the members of the Federation to surrender will be beneficial."

Ogi nodded and remained silent. Lelouch turned toward the doorway and waited several moments. And then it hissed open, two soldiers walking in dragging a bound Kanon between them while three followed close behind, rifles held tightly to their chests. "We have him, Your Highness," the two holding him unnecessarily noted.

Lelouch pointed toward an unoccupied chair to Ogi's right and said, "Place him there."

Ogi moved aside as the two soldiers obliged, filing out of the room as soon as the prisoner had been settled into the chair. Lelouch walked over to him with C.C. padding along behind him like a loyal dog – C.C. would kill him for making the relation, he was sure – and smirking a smirk that Kanon mysteriously matched. "Kanon Maldini, correct? Schneizel's right hand."

"In all matters, yes," Kanon quipped. And then with a discrete wink, he added, "All."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow and C.C. chuckled, but neither commented on the insinuation – it was likely some strange form of humor as far as Kanon was concerned, and Lelouch was in no mood to be bought by it. "Schneizel is in hiding. This makes you his successor, right?"

"In the absence of an heir," Kanon deadpanned. "What of it?"

"Surrender."

Kanon laughed lightly, and as it faded that smirk that could match Lelouch's was back. "No."

Lelouch folded his arms and tilted his head, asking bluntly and disbelievingly, "No?"

Kanon nodded, lifting his bound wrists and then dropping them again. "You will destroy this world."

With a brief moment to put in check his less calm emotions, Lelouch's expression hardened and his eyebrow raised higher. "Is that so?"

"You fight for your own satisfaction," Kanon clarified, sparing a glance to Ogi and then to Tamaki, whom Ogi had since seated himself beside. "You rebelled because your mother was unjustly murdered, and your sister was harmed. You changed this world because you believed it to be distorted and wrong, right?" He didn't wait for Lelouch to answer, continuing, "Your every action, whether they benefited somebody else or not, was made for your own satisfaction.

"Lord Schneizel recognized this. He may have been hated, but he fought because he realized that you were a demon. A harmless little rebellion, one that succeeded only because you took the world by surprise with the Geass, became something much more than it should have." Kanon's fingers bent and straightened repeatedly, and had he had the range to do so, he probably would have been clenching and unclenching his fists. "I will not surrender to a man who will destroy this world."

The room fell into a stunned silence, broken only by C.C.'s amused chuckling. How she found his speech amusing was unfathomable to Lelouch, but it must have had something to do with her depraved sort of humor. She found humor in the brutal little truths that were dropped at Lelouch's feet, at watching the typically manipulative man be forced out of his element. Even as his only form of solace, the question of which side she was on dared to be asked at this moment.

Lelouch closed his eyes and sighed softly as the truth of those words sunk in. He knew that, even if some of it was false and said with the intent to further rile him, much of it had been true. But he couldn't show that. If he did, his position would be in dire straits. At least until Britannia fell, he needed to convince everybody that he was the selfless leader they thought he was. He was disappointed by the necessity to weave a whole new web of lies, but it couldn't be helped.

"Is that right?" Lelouch asked, raising his head and smirking. "Britannia oppressed anybody that they saw fit to. I rebelled against a nation that conquers and oppresses, that rules the world through a belief of strong and weak when the world needed equality. I fought for justice, for the sake of those who could not. And Schneizel followed Britannia's example, just for a chance to stop us from bringing this world to it's proper tomorrow."

The look in Kanon's eyes told Lelouch that he knew the underlying lie in those words, even if he didn't speak it. His smirk faded and he smiled softly, condescendingly, and said, "Even so, I will not surrender. I will not bow to you, Lelouch Vi Britannia."

Lelouch felt anger rising in him as that name rested in his mind, taunting him with the truth of it. He dismissed the anger for the moment and focused instead on Kanon, whom he was painfully aware had no intention of relenting. "... Fine," he said reluctantly, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. "Take him back to his cell," he called out to nobody in particular.

As soldiers rushed in again to haul him away, Kanon teasingly asked, "I have my rights, right?"

"Yes," Lelouch breathed, keeping his eyes averted to the ground until he heard the door hiss closed. "What have the Federation's member states said on the matter?"

Ogi frowned, obviously bothered by Kanon's comments even after Lelouch's assurances to the contrary. "Several expressed a desire to enter the United States, but it seems that general authority rests with the sovereign. Schneizel truly was a dictator."

"What about the peninsula?" Lelouch asked, directing his attention to the fact that the nations in southwestern Europe seemed to have no trouble surrendering once they had their lives placed in danger. Surely the rest of the Federation realized that they were a stone's throw from being in the same situation?

Ogi just shrugged, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Lelouch frowned at him, then turned to C.C. who offered him an identical shrug. Sighing again, Lelouch focused his thoughts elsewhere, such as on the need to find Schneizel. "Any lead on Schneizel?" he asked, voicing his thoughts.

"None," Ogi sighed, not so much as moving a muscle as he answered. It was going to be a long few days, Lelouch thought as he mulled over their two recent failures.

o---o

Like much of the United States military, Jeremiah had been virtually put on vacation while Lelouch went off to fight on the African front. There were basic drills to be done, stock on Knightmare Frames to be taken – the startlingly swift production of Knightmare Frames now had their stock almost as high as their count in soldiers – and defenses to be strengthened. But the soldiers were already as prepared as they could be, the aforementioned problem with their stock of Knightmare Frames stood, and their defenses were virtually impregnable. The rest of their time had been, by Jeremiah's leave, paid vacation.

Jeremiah never once left the base except to purchase necessities from the nearest locale; he was dedicated to waiting for Lelouch's orders. Before long, the order to begin hounding the Britannian forces along the border would be given – Jeremiah laughed even now at the mocking discussion he and Lelouch had shared at how easily Odysseus handed over control of the California Base. Truly the man knew nothing of war, Jeremiah thought with some trepidation, to so willingly allow their forces a base on the mainland. Especially when the Pacific was such a powerful shield against naval assault near the capital at Pendragon.

He grinned to himself as he paced back and forth in his personal quarters within the base, a small room hardly bigger than a kitchen in a lower middle class home. A desk and chair were stuffed painfully close to one another in one corner while a double sized bed rested in the opposite corner, with a satin white sheet covering it that belied it's humble size. The rest of the room was bare, with a shimmering gray paint covering the walls that had yet to begin to fade and nothing else. It suited the purposes he required of it – working and sleeping – and nothing more. But really, why have anything in there that he didn't require? It seemed like a bothersome waste of space to him, and there was hardly any space to spare as it was.

The desk was neatly covered in piles of papers, orderly right down to the date on the corner of each sheet – more recent dates, up until the present June 17th, on top, and the later dates on bottom. Two drawers lined the front of the desk, one for holding office supplies such as writing equipment and other such necessities while the other had a roll of stamps, a date stamper and black ink to wet itself in. Atop a tray attached to the desk beneath the drawers was a pile of blank sheets of paper, completing the obsessively neat desk's painfully orderly appearance.

Some would find the room's state of perfection to be a bit much, Jeremiah thought. But no, not him. Besides, he couldn't run the risk that, unlikely as it was, Lord Lelouch would arrive for a visit and find the room not orderly. No, for the sake of that possibility it needed to remain neat and orderly at all times. Jeremiah smiled at the thought as he sat down on the edge of the desk and picked up one of the papers he had already read a half dozen times. Thirteen more Han-Shu had arrived, as well as six more Akatsuki and seven Gekka. The Knightmare Frames that made up the core of their military forces were quickly finding they had no room to be stored within the base. And that was discounting the fact that they needed to leave some space to properly build defenses, in case of the slim possibility of Britannian attack.

Jeremiah sat the paper atop it's proper pile and glanced briefly over at the bed, making sure it was perfectly made before he left the room. His boots padded loudly against the ground as he walked, intent on paying a visit to the hangar to take the Edinburgh for a brief ride. It had been long since he'd sat in it, so it would feel good to release the building stress for a while. He made sure his cell phone was in his pocket while he performed a retinal scan next to the door leading out of the base's officer quarters, passing through it as it hissed open in affirmation of his identity.

The morning air was chilling, and silent on account of just about everybody still being asleep. It had been a sleepless night for Jeremiah himself, filled with anxiety over the coming battle. He paused in his walk toward the hangar to look to the sky, where a slight overcast hid the rising sun. It looked like it would rain before long, but the clouds lacked the dark hues necessary for it to be a true downpour. The air already felt wet, as if to give truth to his suspicion.

"Lord Lelouch, let us hope your tomorrow is not so cloudy..." he murmured to the sky, smiling slightly as he watched the clouds shift. A fog seemed to be settling in, evidenced by the difficulty in seeing the horizon as he glanced thither, and the idea of taking the Edinburgh for a ride seemed like slightly less of a good idea. But he ignored the coming fog and continued on, walking through the open doors of the hangar where already the earliest risers were working on Knightmare Frame maintenance.

He dismissed the two men inspecting the Edinburgh and rode his way up to the cockpit, dropping inside it and sliding in his activation key. The Frame roared to life as wires holding it in place began to fall away from it one by one, and he slowly stepped it out of it's spot and made sure he had a clear run at the hangar's entrance before dropping the landspinners and tearing across the ground loudly. As soon as he was out of the hangar he quickly turned, managing to do so before the Edinburgh slammed into the officers' quarters, progressing toward the rolling fog and enveloping himself in it.

Grabbing one of his two MVS, Jeremiah fluidly turned in place and slashed downward, as though there were a foe there to be cleaved through. Simultaneously he threw his other arm out as if to block an assault from the other side before casually turning in place and cleaving through that one, too. His movements continued, carrying him as though he were in the heat of a desperate battle. His right arm swung, then the left, and then the right again... Almost as though he were truly fighting, he instinctively put the two swords together into their lance form and stabbed through an imaginary foe in front of him. It would be several hours before enough men were awake for a mock battle, so it was the best he could do.

The thick fog made him think before every move, calculating his every action with a meticulous breakdown of what could, would and may have happened. It was not uncommon for him to do so, with the relatively frequent morning fogs they had rolling in off of the Pacific, and it felt good to practice in such a dangerous situation. Were it a real battle he'd have no idea of knowing what awaited him, and life and death would be little more than a hair's breadth apart. A normally easy to dodge sword could become impossibly difficult to prepare for, with only split second windows between when one was made fully aware of their immediate surroundings and when that threatening sword would have driven itself through you.

His senses were on high alert as the fog slowly intensified, and he hadn't truly realized that he could barely see until he broke his focus briefly to properly take in his surroundings. Indeed, the lush plains surrounding the naval base were thick with a heavy fog that was surely making it's way toward the base, contrary to the relatively frequent fogs they had rolling off of the Pacific. It was eerie to be able to see nothing but the gray mist all around him, but Jeremiah knew his surroundings and his own movements well enough to know the general route back to the base. Deciding to partake in the wiser side of the matter, Jeremiah slowly began to make his way back to the base, careful that his route wouldn't have him running headlong into any buildings.

As he did so, the phone in his pocket rang. Careful to keep one hand focused on maneuvering Jeremiah dug into his pocket and fished out his phone, checking the ID before hurriedly answering. "Lord Lelouch?"

"Good morning, Jeremiah," Lelouch replied warmly, his voice thick with sleep. Jeremiah had the brief image of the teen sitting on the edge of his bed, shirtless, with that enigmatic woman hanging over his shoulder like an ill intending devil on his shoulder, speaking persuasive and sinister words into his ear while it's counterpart, an angel with a bright halo hanging overhead, whispered the opposite sort of words into his other ear. It was comical to say the least, if not a little bit unwarranted.

"What's the reason for this call, my Lord?" Jeremiah asked pensively. And then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "And how fares the negotiations?"

"Kanon is being stubborn, heedless of the harm he is inflicting on the people," Lelouch said with a sigh, though whether it was of sadness for the people's sufferings or of annoyance for Kanon's obstinacy Jeremiah couldn't be sure. "We need to settle the matter here and get back home soon, though; Cornelia tells me the court is growing restless with my absence."

Jeremiah nodded idly, taking the information in stride. Unlike most other people, the question of whether or not Lelouch cared for the people was meaningless to him. Marianne's progeny, the son of the woman he had so faithfully obeyed, would be his master unconditionally. Whether he was aware of it or not, Lelouch had an ally that would follow him to the depths of hell just because he thought it expected of him to do so. And Jeremiah had a feeling they were both headed in that direction.

"You didn't call for that reason, my Lord," Jeremiah remarked, his eyes scanning the horizon as finally the enclosing walls of the base came into view, with a triangle roof building off to the left and a flat roof building to the immediate right – the hangar and the officers' quarters, respectively. "So? Is it time to prepare for the next phase?"

"It is," Lelouch agreed, laughing slightly. "How soon can you be ready?"

"If I woke up everybody now? Within an hour or two."

Lelouch laughed again, probably having expected Jeremiah's strict preparations. Had it been anyone else, an attack wouldn't have been ready within a day, Jeremiah reasoned. "Two days should be fine, Jeremiah. Let the men rest. If I am not ready to do my part in the next phase within two days, begin without me."

"And targets?"

"Target the Sacramento Base and their base along the Sacramento River first. We want to send a message and we want to delay their forces along the Pacific front; we're not looking for a full on invasion from California."

"Understood," Jeremiah replied stiffly, bringing up the landspinners as he entered the hangar. "And Lord Lelouch?"

"Hmm?" Lelouch hummed indulgently.

"Let's see this through," Jeremiah replied, smiling to himself. "I know not what you saw in the World of C, or what your new Code has done to you, but for Marianne's memory, everything needs to come to a close."

o---o

Lelouch turned off his cell phone and put it back in his pocket before turning to Kanon who, once again, had been placed in one of the chairs in the Hogosha's Command Center. "Within a few days, Britannia will be under attack. Once Pendragon falls, Britannia will crumble, and it will become a desolate region just like the Federation has become. Now, once Britannia is under control, I will be more than willing to conquer the Federation state by state. But do you want to put the people through that?"

For the past two hours, negotiations – or interrogations, given the violent undertone to the occasion – had returned full force. This time the Command Center was empty save for them and C.C., who was seated toward the back with her knees drawn to her chest and a pizza box settled atop them. Kanon had remained as obstinate as ever in the face of surrender, and nothing Lelouch had said made the slightest difference.

That was until he contacted Jeremiah. He made it quite clear to Kanon what his intentions were, and even though he had been excused briefly to make a phone call of his own, as per his rights, Lelouch had seen the change in Kanon's demeanor when the threat of them turning the Federation into a war zone had been brought up. And that's exactly what would happen, were the isolated regions of the Federation to become the sole parts of the world not under the control of the United States. It was a great bluff on his part, but one that he would despair having to carry out if it didn't work.

Kanon raised an eyebrow and frowned; his expression seemed more forced than Lelouch was comfortable with, and the added fact that this change had come immediately after Kanon had been granted a complementary phone call disconcerted him. "A threat?" Kanon asked.

"Your own decision," Lelouch corrected. "If you will be too obstinate to see the good sense in surrendering, I'll remind you the consequences of it."

Kanon's face went blank for a moment and then finally, with a low bow of the head, he toppled to the ground on his hands and knees. He kept his head down to keep his expression masked, and Lelouch took advantage of it to allow his satisfaction to show on his face – a wide, almost painfully so, smirk formed, and a chuckle so forceful that C.C. briefly looked up from her pizza to gaze at him. He met her look and his smirk widened, but she just shrugged nonchalantly and went back to eating her pizza. He frowned.

"How will you deal with the other leaders?" she asked casually, in reference to the many leaders of the United States that surely wouldn't be pleased if he settled the matter of what to do with the former Federation – Euro Universe – territory without consulting them. It was one of the shortcomings of his position, but Lelouch was willing to please them if it meant he could act freely otherwise. It was a small drawback to having as much power as he had.

"Surely there will be no problems if we simply make each nation's leader a figurehead representative, right?" Lelouch remarked with a laugh. He leaned down toward the table in front of him and pressed a button, unlocking the door to the Command Center. Immediately five soldiers poured in and grabbed Kanon, and as he was hauled from the room, Ogi came in followed by the council members of the United States. Every single representative came in one after the other – first Gabon's President, Alain and ending with the Black Knights representative, Suzaku - and began taking seats, keeping their eyes on Lelouch all the while. No problems arose until it came time for C.C.'s seat to be occupied, and Lelouch quickly intervened by pulling her to her feet and pressing her body against his, taking the pizza box from her limp fingers and placing it on the table. Which she reeled from the sudden movement and from the loss of her pizza, he pushed her into the seat he had planned to occupy and remained standing.

"Have they surrendered?" Suzaku asked, looking nonplussed as he looked at Lelouch.

"They have," Lelouch smiled proudly. "The simplest matter would be to simply invite the nation's leaders into the United States as representatives, but for long term a vote will need to be taken on whether or not they can remain. Is that reasonable?"

"Are they joining of their own will?" Alain asked, casting a casually appraising look toward Lelouch.

"Those who join will be," Lelouch answered. "Already forces under the Silver Knight are getting ready to attack Britannian military bases in California, and so to ensure our attacks on that front are successful, the Anti-Britannian Front will be heading there under my direct command. The remainder of our forces can do a sweep of this area and see if a bit of forceful persuasion will sway their decisions."

"Forceful persuasion?" another representative asked. It was one of their new representatives, President Bruno Silvia of Portugal. He was a man of medium height, with an aging face and cropped, greying hair. The aging lines in his slightly wrinkled face spoke of his age, which was something that Lelouch knew he would never acquire. "Isn't that a little extreme?" He left unsaid that 'forced persuasion' was the method used to secure his alliance with the United States, as that point was hardly a good one to bring up at the moment.

"For tomorrow, it is necessary," Lelouch replied patiently. Behind him C.C. chuckled as she tore into her sixth piece of pizza, and he scowled. "Even if we do things that aren't ideal, for a tomorrow where we can settle matters peacefully, we must first unify the world."

As everyone slowly began voicing their agreement on the matter and began signing their agreement to Lelouch's terms onto a piece of paper that Ogi handed to each of them, nobody noticed Suzaku's scowling expression as he gazed at Lelouch's victoriously smirking face. Nobody knew the treacherous thoughts running through his head, implanted after several instances of Lelouch forsaking what was right for what satisfied himself.

Nobody knew their ace knight was slowly losing faith in their cause, or that his disillusionment would soon spread to their other ace knight as well.

o---o

Odysseus sat in the empty throne room of the Britannia Palace, mulling over the latest developments to have reached his attention. Even following their fall from grace, Britannia still prided itself – perhaps too much so – on it's impeccable spy and information networks, and the swiftness with which word of new tidings reached their ears.

Already, just two hours after the incident, Odysseus had learned of the official surrender of the Federation's nations to the United States. And thanks to spies in those nations, he knew that every one of them was harboring thoughts of going to the United States for protection and that the conflict in Europe and Russia would be brought to a close after a brief sweep of United States forces.

He also knew of the preparations taking place at the California Base, of troops undergoing Knightmare Frame training far too rigorous for it to be basic military drills. Lelouch would be attacking them soon, and as much as it pained Odysseus to do anything contrary to his beliefs, he knew that if he did not fight back the empire would not live to see a chance at taking a diplomatic route. If Lelouch would even have anything of a diplomatic solution, that is; Odysseus knew what crime the Vampire of Britannia had committed at Mt. Fuji, and while his high standing position made punishing the knight himself impossible, he knew Lelouch would stop at nothing to avenge Clovis. And that thought nagged at and worried Odysseus.

He glanced down at his sister's amusedly smiling face, urging her to help him in this decision. It was a difficult one, easily one that could shape much of what was to come, and he didn't know if he had it in him to make the right decision. He knew the necessity to fight off Lelouch was growing stronger, and that Lelouch would soon be at their doorstep. By and large, not even setting up defenses would do much to stop Lelouch – Odysseus knew this, though he'd never demoralize the troops by spreading such words. If Lelouch was preparing such a brazen attack in California, there had to be some other motive, one that they would never see coming. One that would ultimately devastate them.

"The world will really hate Lelouch soon, won't it?" Guinevere quipped merrily, ignoring her brother's plight – or at least, it seemed so to him. "Even if he conquers the world, does he really think peace will come?" She paused to glance up at her brother, then glanced away while she brought a small glass of red wine to her lips. "Hypocrite," she spat around the glass' rim.

"He strongly believes in his ideals," Odysseus remarked as mildly as he could manage, also reaching for his own wine glass and draining it. A servant was ready to rush to his side the moment it was empty, bowing low and offering a silver with gold trimming platter to place the empty glass on. "So long as he believes that what he is doing is right, he will fight for those ideals."

"And you're hoping he comes to his senses before it's too late," Guinevere surmised. She held out her hand as a servant rushed in from the other side to give her a new glass of wine, while at the same time the other servant brought in a silver platter with three different glasses of wine for Odysseus to choose from.

"We cannot hope for that," Odysseus frowned, reaching over and grabbing one of the glasses of red wine and taking a tiny sip before leaning over and thanking the servant, which seemed to baffle the poor guy, and dismissed him. While the confusedly elated servant left, Odysseus looked down at his sister. The expression of mild amusement on her face perturbed him as much as it annoyed him, but the sight of her in such high spirits – a thing seldom seen in the past, but seen all too frequently since his unofficial coronation – dispelled any anger he could have possibly held for her. "But the world will see the folly in his ideals before long; I just hope he has the sense to see it coming."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then the days of the feared and iconic Lelouch Lamperouge will be coming to a rather abrupt end," Odysseus quipped, managing a small smile at the joking intent behind the words. He was, however, completely serious in regard to the implications of that statement, and was anything but happy to consider the possibility of his half-brother's untimely death.

"And yet despite the fact that he is knocking on our doorstep, with an army of Knightmare Frames as wide as the horizon and a wit that subdued Schneizel with ease, you wish to help him," Guinevere remarked dryly, with an effort to keep any displeasure out of her voice. Odysseus knew that for the sake of being a good adviser to him she was trying to be indifferent, but even he could concede to the difficulty in accepting the reality that he wanted to aid Lelouch after all he had done to Britannia. The fact that the Britannia that Lelouch fought against was the Britannia ruled by their father was a rather moot point now, given Lelouch's obvious intent to attack them regardless of their vastly changing political stance.

But he appreciated the effort nonetheless. In days long past, when their father had still sat proudly upon the throne Odysseus now held, she had never smiled. She would scowl at anything that moved, and had a demeanor about her that demanded respect, else the offending person was unlikely to live to tell of their disrespect. Recently, seeing her smile had been a boon ten times over, and he relished every opportunity to watch his dear, elder sister do so. It was enough to make him forget a bad incident that had reached his ears, or forget about a day dealing with particularly zealous nobles. Being well into adulthood and lonesome where comfort was concerned – having been deprived the necessity to be married off for political influence on account of his status as the Crown Prince had something to do with that – left him jumping for the comfort his sister could provide. In the harsh world he'd been thrust into as one of Charles Di Britannia's many children, it was the only comfort he knew.

"We cannot help Lelouch," Odysseus admitted, however reluctant he was to do so. "But if he survives the world's betrayal," he took a moment to make sure that the fact that the world would undoubtedly betray him was an unspoken certainty, "he will not take the matter lying down. We will be facing a demon unlike any other.

"There are those in the United States that prioritize their loyalty to Lelouch over their loyalty to the world," Odysseus continued, pausing long enough to take a small sip from his wine glass before resting it down on the arm of his seat and keeping two fingers wrapped around it's base. "I'm sure that if he wanted, he could make an army of demons to face the world."

"The world could very well be destroyed," Guinevere remarked, her amused smile fading into a small, petulant frown. "Lelouch would destroy this world for his whims?"

"Everything started by his selfishness," Odysseus reminded her.

"Even so..."

Guinevere trailed off as the large doors at the opposite end of the throne room slowly slid open, revealing two guards. As soon as the doors were fully open they stepped aside, announcing in booming voices, "Her Highness, Euphemia Li Britannia, will now enter!"

Euphemia stepped through the threshold in her standard wedding gown style dress, smiling faintly as she approached her two siblings, allies, and possibly co-conspirators. "I'm not intruding on anything am I?"

"Nothing," Guinevere replied indulgently, though the annoyance she exuded was palpable. Evidently, Odysseus thought, he was not the only one who enjoyed the time shared simply between them. "What do you need, Euphemia?"

Euphemia frowned at the casual way with which the question had been worded, but she did not comment on it. "There isn't a way for us to settle things peacefully anymore, is there?"

"I wish there were," Odysseus sighed, sipping again at his wine before casting a whithering glance at the half-emptied glass – casual with alcohol as he was, he felt the burning need for some form of relief at that moment. "Jeremiah will be attacking us soon. And who knows what Lelouch has planned."

"My sister told me the same thing," Euphemia said, making note of her sister's possible betrayal of Lelouch in casual stride. "But not even she knows what Lelouch's target will be, just that he will be attacking us somewhere else."

"He really is an enigma," Odysseus groused, feeling the beginnings of a headache as his head tried in vain to predict what Lelouch would do. Surely nothing so bold as to put himself in a perilous position, but there was nothing that Odysseus could come up with that fit with Lelouch's propriety for dramatic actions. Lelouch would be doing something big, something decisive – if he wanted a war of attrition, he would simply attack alongside Jeremiah.

Euphemia frowned and began pacing, wringing her hands nervously all the while. "I wish we could solve this peacefully..." she murmured, shaking her head pitifully afterwards. "Lelouch won't listen to us?"

"We haven't tried," Guinevere admitted truthfully, tilting her head to the side and observing Euphemia. She was vaguely aware of a servant at her side with a bottle of wine, refilling her glass, but she paid him no heed. "It seemed pointless to do so, since he's all but declared war on us already."

"But..." Euphemia stopped pacing and looked up at her two siblings, a thoughtful and somewhat dismal look on her face. "Shouldn't we be trying to solve things peacefully until there's no choice left? Isn't that what we agreed to do?"

"The Knight of Three decided that, in lieu of permission to attack California, that he would be heading the defense," Odysseus explained, as if this explained everything – and sadly enough, it did. "At the very least, he will be defending our position in California. If that position crumbles, peaceful resolution will be impossible."

"Lelouch isn't after California, though," Guinevere added thoughtfully, rubbing at her chin with her right hand while her left again brought her wine glass to her lips, sending the stinging liquid down her throat in one large gulp.

Odysseus looked at his sister with an unreadable expression, but it was obvious – at least to her – that he was waiting for an explanation. "If he were, he would be assembling a larger army at the California Base than he is," she explained patiently, watching Odysseus and Euphemia bob their heads in understanding unity. "And more importantly, a lot of our forces are in California, preparing a defensive front against Lelouch. Whatever his real target is, he's using his military preparations in California as a diversion."

"And a good one," Odysseus said, catching onto his sister's thoughts. "If we try to avoid his diversion force, he will occupy California and be a stone's throw from here anyway. He planned this well."

"But where would he target?" Guinevere asked, turning in her seat to give her brother her full attention.

"With his victory over Schneizel, Lelouch has access to both the Atlantic and the Pacific," Odysseus stated with uncertainty, contemplating the question she had placed before him. "He could be targeting anywhere. But only a handful of them would provide the dramatic impact he's known for, and only one has the decisive impact that we can presume he's going for."

"Here," Euphemia said unnecessarily.

"He can't get here, though," Guinevere quickly said, her voice cracking a little at the thought of Lelouch leading a surprise attack on the capital when so many of their forces were dispatched elsewhere to protect them from that very possibility. "He would have to break through our entire Atlantic Fleet, or join up with Jeremiah and break through our forces on the Pacific Front! Not even he can pull off a miracle such as that."

Odysseus dearly hoped his sister was right, but he couldn't shake the thought that her presumptions were underestimating just how resourceful Lelouch was. That their thinking was on a level incapable of comprehending the depth of what Lelouch could do, and that they would pay dearly for it.

o---o

The fog from two days ago had dispersed – unsurprisingly, but Jeremiah felt it prudent that he note this anyway – and the horizon was clear, the rising morning sun beating down on the ground hotly. He was safe within the cockpit of the Edinburgh, where his only enemy was no air conditioning, causing a light sheen of sweat to slowly form along his brow and along his shoulder blades, slowly dripping down his face and back respectively. He felt positively disgusting, but hygiene was hardly the primary issue at the moment.

Back in the large hangar, Knightmare Frames were being prepared for the journey to Sacramento, their first target in their assault on California. It was imperative that they prioritize delaying the enemy, and given the numbers they were rushing into battle with, that was really all they would be able to do. For Britannia's massive forces along their bases in California, they had only forty-five Knightmare Frames with which to answer. All of them overpowered the outdated Sutherland and Gloucester primarily boasted by the Britannian forces, but the difference in numbers would probably mean something eventually. But this was alright. It was preferable, really. Lelouch had said that he wanted Britannia to know that he had no interest in actually subduing their forces along the Pacific Front, and assaulting them with such few forces was an ideal way to get that point across.

"Lord Gottwald, the Knightmare Frames are ready for deployment or transport," the on-duty Lieutenant's voice broke his calm, speaking lightly through the channel that had been established between the Lieutenant's handheld transceiver and the Edinburgh. "Should we get ready to deploy?"

Jeremiah thought it over for a moment, deciding which would be best for the occasion. On one hand they could make sure they were ready for battle the moment they arrived by forsaking transport and crossing the distance in their Knightmare Frames, but that meant putting the strength of their batteries, lasting as they were with the help of Yggdrasil drives, at risk. But transporting them meant they had to unload and prepare after they got there, giving the enemy those precious minutes to either fortify or attack them unprepared. Either way, it was evident that acting without a mobile military base was something Jeremiah didn't want to have to do again.

Ultimately, he decided to transport the Knightmare Frames, passing the word along to his Lieutenant before promptly declaring radio silence. The last thing he needed while preparing to escort his forces to the site of the most important role he had played since pledging his loyalty to Master Lelouch was to be disturbed, and he made sure that he was ready both in body and mind. Master Lelouch was counting on him to distract the Britannian forces long enough for him to carry out his part of the plan, at which point what became of Britannia's forces along the Pacific was inconsequential to him. Jeremiah felt a pang of regret for so carelessly squandering the lives of brave men whom he may have once fought alongside, but his determination to follow Master Lelouch stomped on the guilt and stuffed it away before it could bother him.

As per his orders, transport trucks began lining themselves up around him and opening up their backs, revealing storage for about five Knightmare Frames on each – nine trucks in all, to support the entire force of Knightmare Frames. Each truck seated as many as it held, offering passage to the entirety of their pilots as well as any foot soldiers that were to be required for the assault, pilots in their Frames and infantry driving the trucks or riding with the drivers. Jeremiah was the only exception, having decided long before he decided whether or not they'd bother with transport that he'd cross the distance in the Edinburgh either way.

The battle to come was one that was to be, and Jeremiah knew this with as much loathing as he could possibly muster, absolutely suicidal. There was the narrow hope that their better training and more advanced Knightmare Frames would go the distance in overcoming the sheer numbers Britannia had placed along their Pacific Front, but that hope was very slim. The troops under his command were scapegoats, soldiers picked by Lelouch to be used as pawns to draw Britannia's attention while he dealt the decisive blow he needed to deliver. Jeremiah himself was the only willing pawn, but he squashed the guilt that accompanied that thought before it could assail him.

Guilt would get him nowhere now. Not when he'd already become one of Lelouch's demons.

Jeremiah flipped a switch to open his communication channels again, immediately trying to block out the various voices of people as the Knightmare Frames continued to be loaded onto their respective transport trucks. By the sounds of things they were already in the last stages of loading Knightmare Frames, which pleased Jeremiah, but the beginning of a headache was the most harsh of matters that destroyed any elation he otherwise would have felt.

"Lord Gottwald, we're ready," the Lieutenant said suddenly, as if he knew that Jeremiah had opened his channels again. Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.

"Set out. I'll catch up shortly."

After a few minutes of hesitation and accompanying complaints from the Lieutenant, the trucks carrying their despairingly small army set out. Jeremiah leaned back and sighed, glad to be alone again before he headed off into battle. "This had better work..." he murmured, keeping his voice quiet. "Those are good men we're sacrificing out there, Master Lelouch."

Jeremiah again dismissed any dismal thoughts of brave men being sacrificed. It was for the greater good, or at least the good that satisfied Master Lelouch, and that was what mattered. Beyond serving Master Lelouch and seeing that his desires were fulfilled, no matter what was lost to see that end, nothing else mattered.

Jeremiah would be the epitome of a faithful soldier, a man who did his master's bidding without condition and without regret. He would be hated for it someday, he was sure, but he allowed that. It was a necessary element of following Master Lelouch to the bitter end.

No matter where that end was.

o---o

Rolo released his grip on time's passage, coughing violently and clutching at his chest. He fell to his knees as he coughed, feeling the familiar sensation of having come back from the jaws of death itself. This was something he did regularly, when time allowed. He would find a secluded space where his actions bothered nobody, often his own room, and use his Geass until his heart could no longer take the strain. He found it was something that grew easier to handle with practice, and bit by bit his heart was growing to withstand more abuse before it was ready to give out completely. He was careful to not put his life in any real risk with this practice, but if he could use his Geass just one more time than normal, he could help Lelouch that little bit more.

As soon as his heart had returned to a steady beat, broken only by an occasional moment where it forgot to beat, Rolo used his Geass again. He fought to hold his breath, for any breathing would urge his heart to beat when, in this state, it could not. He felt both alive and dead, sitting in a timeless plane where only he could move and where only he could see, feel, and hear. When the strain on his heart became too much he released it, clutching at the richly carpeted floor tightly as he fell into another fit of coughs. His throat stung from the harshness of his coughing, but before long they faded away, leaving only the raw feeling of pain lingering in his throat, like the lingering pain on his knee after receiving a particularly bad rug burn.

He hadn't noticed the door to his room opening until it was too late, and by that point his heart had already started beating again and he'd once again activated his Geass. He looked up at the face of Lelouch, his mouth hanging half open with words yet unspoken, a look on his face far too casual for it to have been possible that he'd noticed what Rolo was doing, almost as though he were actually under the effects of the Geass being emitted about the room. That look slowly turned far more worrisome and he closed his mouth, advancing on Rolo carefully when he took notice of the Geass sigil in his eye.

"What are you doing?" Lelouch asked in what appeared to be an attempt at being indifferent, but his voice held more concern than he seemed to be aware of. The thought that Lelouch could manage to be concerned for his wellbeing made Rolo want to smile, but he suppressed the desire for the time being. He would remember to smile brightly in reminiscence later, though.

Rolo quickly broke his focus and coughed, feeling time steadily beginning to pass around him again, in spite of the fact that it had been all along, if only for him and Lelouch. The time it took to regulate his breathing and heartbeat was less this time, and within a few seconds he managed to pull himself to his feet, gazing up at Lelouch's crooked smile and mirthless eyes, two conflicting elements of a swarm of emotions going through his mind.

"The strain on my heart gets easier to deal with the more I subject myself to it," Rolo replied with a nervous chuckle. "It does still hurt, but I'm getting better at ignoring it." He left it unsaid that subjecting his heart to the constant abuse it received was growing ever more painful with each attempt, but he was sure Lelouch knew that without it being said.

"Why does being able to bear the pain matter so much to you?" Lelouch asked. The thought crossed Rolo's mind that Lelouch already knew the answer and was asking simply to humor himself, and any unlikelihood of that being the case was squashed when Rolo considered just how well Lelouch knew him. Strange as it was, the odds of him not knowing was more weird than him knowing was.

Rolo glanced away from Lelouch's querying eyes, activating his Geass again while his face was turned away from Lelouch's. When he looked back he saw Lelouch's eyebrows rise in bemusement, but he did his best to ignore them. "If I can use my Geass just once more without my heart giving out, then I can help you just that bit more. I'll do anything to be helpful."

Lelouch's eyebrows slowly lowered and his bemused expression softened at the admission, as though he hadn't expected Rolo to so openly admit the truth. But Rolo had nothing to hide – he would not hide his desire to help Lelouch, no matter the cost, and he would not be ashamed of that burning desire. He accepted the fact that he was ready to lay his life on the line for Lelouch, be it in battle or through the help he could provide with his Geass. And if his practicing could make him more useful in controlling who and what was affected by his Geass, so much the better. That didn't necessarily apply to Lelouch, but everybody else was susceptible to his Geass unless he put the extra strain on his heart to exclude them. He smiled at the thought of being able to use such a helpful ability to Lelouch's benefit just a bit more before it killed him.

Again he dropped control on his Geass and again Rolo fell to the floor, clutching at it tightly and coughing for air desperately. Lelouch was kneeling at his side in an instant, rubbing his back in a manner that was almost comforting, though his hand retreated the moment Rolo's breathing evened out. "Your life is worth more than that, Rolo," Lelouch whispered. "You're lucky you've avoided Geass Runaway as long as you have. Don't push it."

"Geass Runaway?" Rolo asked dumbly. Lelouch groaned inaudibly; he should have suspected that V.V., for the sake of having a more useful minion, would have conveniently avoided telling Rolo about such things.

"The loss of your ability to control the Geass," Lelouch explained softly, trying to ignore the desire to let his eye twitch in annoyance at the thought of V.V. having so callously used Rolo as he had. "C.C. tells me that it doesn't happen to everybody, but both Mao and I suffered from it. If it happened to you, you would die immediately from the strain it would put on your heart, I am sure."

Rolo nodded, trying to make sense of the information that, in all fairness, he should have known long ago. This definitely complicated matters for him, but he tried not to let it bother him. After all, it was just another way that he may die in trying to help Lelouch, after all. His conviction to die for Lelouch was not shaken any, and after a few moments he managed a small, rueful smile. "I am ready for that risk."

"You're not!" Lelouch cried, perhaps too hastily to be passed off as nonchalant. "You do nobody any good if you die trying to perfect your Geass. We – no, I – still need you." Rolo felt that there was something else to be said but Lelouch, either because he felt it didn't need to be said or because he was reluctant to, made no move to continue.

That thought brought Rolo in a strange roundabout to a question that needed asking, preferably before he forgot altogether. "Why did you come here, anyway?" He knew that even if his words seemed rude, Lelouch would not read them as such. Lelouch, after all, was seldom known to visit his subordinates on whims. C.C. was the only exception to this, really, and that hardly counted since she took up residence wherever he happened to be staying at any given time. She was like his little safe of secrets, with a massive lock on the front that sealed what was held within from all others. For the most part, what he told C.C. was things nobody else would hear. Rolo tried not to feel bitter.

"The transport planes are ready, and we've already gotten everything in position in Britannia," Lelouch said by way of explanation, looking toward the ceiling as he spoke. Rolo took that chance to use his Geass again but, almost as though he'd sensed it about to be used, Lelouch's gaze snapped back to Rolo and he glared. Rolo broke his focus immediately, fearing what Lelouch may have had to say were he to not do so. "I'm going after the Knight of Ten. I want you to be ready to make sure the main army doesn't suffer if I get tied down."

"You're going to prioritize revenge over the battle itself again?" Rolo asked incredulously, but it could have passed for a casual question with it's lack of incredulity. "Is that a good idea?"

"This world will betray me eventually, Rolo," Lelouch said with a barely noticeable hint of sadness. "It needs to be that way. With the Code, I will live forever – I can't rule the world forever. If the world realizes that I am acting for my own interest, I will be shunned, and the world can move on."

"Do you really think that will work?" Rolo cried. He felt like wincing at the force he had put into his voice, but he didn't think it especially wise to show Lelouch that he was uncomfortable speaking his mind on even such important matters. "That you can conquer the world – the world! - and then have everybody turn on you, just so that they can move on?"

Lelouch didn't answer, and though he didn't know what Lelouch was thinking, Rolo hoped that his comment got through to Lelouch.

"We are the ones conquering this world!" Rolo shouted, resisting the urge to slap Lelouch for his audacious stupidity. "The world will just fall into chaos if it is handed over to somebody else after everything we've done! The people who appose us will think we've gone weak and will strike, and then what? The world will just be at war again!"

"I know," Lelouch replied softly. "But if the world doesn't move on, it will be ruled by an immortal. That cannot be."

"Then what would you do?!" Rolo exclaimed, unconsciously activating his Geass to ensure their privacy even if somebody were to walk in. He felt the familiar constriction grip his heart all over again, but for the time being he ignored it. Lelouch looked like he wanted to berate Rolo for using his Geass again, restraining himself only on the necessity to finish their argument. "Would you hand the world to somebody else, and then let it fall back into a state of chaos worse than what it had been in before you began? How does that solve anything?!"

"Somebody will be there to pick up where I left off," Lelouch said, about as convincingly as Rolo suspected that he himself would have been able to manage – which wasn't very convincing at all. "And the United States will become a democracy with my betrayal. The Black Prince Lelouch, the man who became King of the United States under the guise of keeping the various representatives in line, will be the first and only King. They will see the benefit of ruling hand in hand with one another. And Odysseus, as much as he wants peace, will not object to becoming Britannia's representative in the United States if the opportunity is given to him."

Rolo released his Geass once again, covering the coughing fit he was threatening to fall into with the back of his hand. The shaking of his shoulders, however, made it painfully evident that he was doing a rather poor job of hiding it. Lelouch stepped forward and, in a last minute turnabout that had Rolo sputtering foolishly for a moment longer than he would have liked, hugged Rolo to his chest. "Stop that," he murmured into Rolo's ear, with a biting edge that made Rolo's skin crawl. "The Geass will take everything from you someday. Don't help it."

Rolo instantly felt ashamed, turning his head and glancing at the ground while the occasional gasp of air unwillingly passed through his parted lips. He should have remembered who he was talking to, the man who's entire life had been ruined by one idealistic glimpse of the future that acquiring the Geass had afforded him. He had lost the only family he could honestly say he had, had nobody he could truly call a friend, and was hated by as many people as he was loved by. Compared to all that had happened to him, the losses Rolo could say he had suffered were minimal by comparison, in spite of having had the Geass for so much longer.

"Whatever it is you plan to do, I will help," Rolo whispered, pulling himself away from Lelouch, though keeping him at arm's length. He felt a strange sort of air about him, thicker than usual and almost as though he were... Rolo gasped lightly, but by the time he was aware that he was using his Geass, Lelouch's hand was outstretched with a small contact resting on his open palm. "How did you...?"

"This is V.V.'s Code," Lelouch replied softly. "I could feel that your Geass was going runaway, and I grabbed one of my contacts and came here immediately. Take it, or you'll die."

Rolo did so, fitting the contact over his right eye and effectively sealing his Geass. He coughed lightly, suddenly glad that he was used to that sort of light strain. "Then why did you say..." he left the rest unsaid, but again, Lelouch understood what he had meant to say perfectly.

"It would have caused unnecessary panic if I had walked in here and handed you a contact, telling you your Geass was going to go out of control, wouldn't it?" Lelouch paced over to Rolo's bed, where he sat down and began fingering at his own eyes. "I had hoped this curse would end when I sacrificed my power for V.V.'s Code, but it hasn't. I continue to lose everything I hold dear, and I will inevitably live to see the world beyond everyone else's lives. And sometimes, when I look into somebody's eyes, I remember how dependent I was on my Geass, and how I no longer have that power. Controlling people was vile, but it was a necessary evil I had become familiar with."

He looked up at Rolo with a look so desperate, so imploring, that it floored all of his senses immediately. He was rooted to the spot, watching the conflicting despair and hopelessness awash in Lelouch's eyes. "Enjoy what life you have left. Live to see this through, Rolo, and fight this curse. Hang onto everything you hold dear, because if you don't, it will be gone."

o---o

Private William Gordan was not necessarily the most distinguished soldier in the gracefully crumbling Britannian army, nor was he the keenest in his marksmanship, nor was he necessarily the bravest of the lot.. But he was a man who was determined, and to him that counted for something. He could count on one hand the number of men he knew in the army who truly still wanted to be there, be it out of necessity for their families like it was for him, or because they truly believed in their country. It was a rare thing in recent days to be a willing soldier even with the looming threat of the United States' rising dominance hanging overhead, contrary to the Emperor's statements that with the fall of the Federation things would turn peaceful. William rather prided himself on his willingness to stand against a force like that.

If he were honest with himself, he'd know that his willingness came not from bravery, but rather from the unlikelihood of having to actually fight. He was not a Knightmare Frame pilot by trade – military school seven years ago told him that he and Knightmare Frames were not to be associated on any level – and infantry was quickly becoming a thing of the past, useful only where Knightmare Frames couldn't reach and where gathering intel was an immediate necessity. He saw little field action and more messenger work than anything, which had him frequenting the underground routes through Pendragon often. His life as a soldier had been far more glorious back in Area 11, working extermination operations against terrorists left, right and center under the direct authority of Third Prince Clovis. But this was safer, and still secured him the same number on his paycheck, so he didn't mind. In fact, his family was delighted, so he too was delighted. It was a happy snowball effect that only a father of two children, both approaching their teen years could appreciate.

He was taking that route again, this time to deliver a message to Seargent Cole Osborne-Ainsworth – the latter of the two names came from his wife, William had been told, though he couldn't recall why it was his job to care – who was in charge of the infantry patrolling the outer reaches of the massive city of Pendragon, where the civilians were situated, all but begging to be hit first were the capital to fall under attack. The rest of the capital rested on plates not unlike those originally built in the construction of New Tokyo, except in the case of Pendragon it was to allow for expansions to be made on the city that couldn't be made with the city resting on the ground, as it had been in the past. It had been rather bluntly stated by higher-ups that His Majesty's claims of a coming peace were, and William quoted, 'A load of bullshit,' and that the capital would surely be a target before long. Nobody was quite sure how that was possible, but nobody doubted that the Black Prince would soon show them.

This fact made him more than a little nervous, and added credible proof to his lack of bravery. He didn't feel comfortable so close to the ground and near the civilian homes, and would much rather have been closer to the palace, where not only was an attack not likely to originate, but where defenses were at their highest. As it stood, with the majority of their forces off on the Pacific Front preparing to fight with United States forces, their forces in the capital were minimal and mostly stationed around the Britannia Palace, where His Majesty was. It was for this very reason that so many believed that the Black Prince would be attacking the capital, where a decisive blow would hit Britannia hardest and where defenses were at their weakest. He could maximize his gains while minimizing his losses, and if he played his cards right he could demolish Britannia with ease. Striking at the head was always a more effective tactic than attrition warfare, after all.

Not that he knew this from personal experience, or anything of the like. He had been told so by somebody... Somebody who's name, face, and everything escaped his mind entirely. Whenever he thought about it, a hazy shroud blanketed his memories and blocked it from his mind, like some supernatural sort of hypnotism. The only things he could remember was that he had met the person in the Tokyo Settlement mere weeks before his sudden transfer to the homeland, and strangely demonic eyes unlike any he had seen before. They were a deep violet beneath bleeding red, bird like symbols that replaced actual pupils. The moment he remembered those eyes, though... Those frightful, chilling eyes... His entire mind went blank, and when he tried to think of them again, nothing came. It was an eerie phenomenon that William didn't dare voice to any other.

As if to contradict the thoughts running through his head, those damned, demonic eyes emerged in his mind's eye. He could feel them weaving around him, like a spell bending his will to their whims. Before he realized it, his feet were carrying him to the control room, where just about everything to do with the underground tunnels was managed. The walls along the way looked slightly different, not enough so for it to be noticed by the average passers-by, but just different enough that he could notice it when he was looking for such irregularities. There was something out of place, something that didn't feel quite right. William couldn't for the life of him figure out what was different, though, and his mind was in no mood to allow him to ponder it further. His mind was dedicated to getting to the control room, and his every thought otherwise was quickly being squashed by the odd determination to get there.

When he walked into the small control room, hardly any bigger than one of the larger prison cells used to hold the many terrorists captured over the years, in which they had been fighting for the very security of Britannia's conquests, another odd compulsion overcame him. His feet dragged their way over to the control panel, where he began flipping switches and attaching wires that he knew shouldn't be attached the way they were. Some were even wires he didn't recognize. When he was finished with his oddly compulsive wiring and flipping of switches, he found he had complete control over his body again, unlike moments before where it felt as though a different, alien part of his mind had hijacked his every function. He stepped forward to fix the mess he had just made, but by then it was too late.

High above Pendragon, Lelouch was laughing insanely as he held in front of him a small button, resting atop a handheld object vaguely resembling a King chess piece. He pressed the button and threw his head back, laughing wildly as the loud noises of ensuing explosions began. The tunnels beneath Pendragon's upper tiers began collapsing one by one, destroying much of the city that rested atop the plates and badly damaging everything else. Within those short, few seconds, the entirety of the capital of the Holy Britannian Empire had been turned into a ruined mess, with dilapidated buildings as far as the eye could see. The only building that wasn't worse for wear was the Britannia Palace, built upon the regular ground and rising higher than even many of the buildings resting atop plates. The tunnels beneath the plates had been hit the hardest, and it didn't need to be said that there were no survivors within their depths.

"This is it!" he cried, his voice cracking with laughter. "This is the end, C.C.! Britannia will fall, and the world will be our's!"

"Was it worth the destruction you just caused?" C.C. asked casually, referring with a wave of her arm to the ruined remains of the once proud Britannian capital. The long, wide street known as St. Darwin's Street looked particularly bad, in spite of the relatively good shape the palace resting at the end of it was. "The world will hate you for this."

"So it will," Lelouch sighed, his laughter slowly fading away. "But that's alright. It's better this way. If they hate me, they will be more inclined to betray me. And then we can all move on, before the world expects me to rule over it."

* * *

Okay, first things first. Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I said the hinting of romantic implication in the relationship between Odysseus and Guinevere would be a one time thing. But it just kinda flows out of me when I'm writing them for some reason, almost without me noticing. In this instance I didn't actually notice until I was proofreading, actually, but I can't deny that it is there. This may be a bigger problem than I foresaw it being, especially if any of ye faithful readers have a problem with incest. I can honestly say I don't (and I will admit to having a naïve ignorance in regards to any arguments people use against incest), but open-minded (and possibly blind) acceptance like mine is a rare thing. I'll try to keep it to a minimum, for the sake of those who do not agree with me.

While we're apologizing, sorry it took me so long to get this out. In truth, I've had this chapter done for some time, but because of the sheer length I felt that extensive revision was an absolute necessity. That being said, unexpected developments in my social life (ie. Actually briefly having one, heh) forced me to put off proofreading and the like for several days, and then general laziness forced me to look at this chapter and say, "Crap, I have to revise all that?" and thus I put it off for as long as I could... and yeah. Bad excuse? Yes. But at least I have a relative excuse.

Also, this chapter has basically established who's disillusioned with Lelouch, and who is sticking by him through good and bad. I won't point fingers and spoil it for the painfully oblivious, but I've basically thrown it in your faces here. This is to give a bit of perspective for later, and because the matter of who is on who's side will be important within the next few chapters. We only have another ten or so to go, and then this story is finished. To nip any thoughtful requests in the bud, a sequel is a no no, particularly because there is no way to make a continuation to this without making the plot redundant. If there were a way to do so, I probably would at some point. As it stands, the ending I have plotted ties up just about everything and leaves no room for future plots.

And to those interested in the vague resemblance, the scene between Rolo and Lelouch discussed matters that were, for the most part, a reference to the finale of R2 and my intense hatred of it. As a wise... something I read once said, it was basically as though Lelouch had used the two month lapse to watch Gundam 00. So yeah, I just needed to get that out of my system, really. And the whole Celestial Being-influenced plan of Lelouch's was insanely stupid, I think. That opinion isn't personal bias really (though I won't deny that I am biased against Sunrise's cop-out through killing Lelouch) and more my thoughts on their lack of creativity and the epitome of R2's failure in living up to the success of the first season.

Anyway, musical inspiration for this chapter was, again, TM Revolution. I also took some interest in Yousei Teikoku, particularly their song Stigma, from which yet another good MAD video was made. The latter of which is relatively dark (I thought of it as a sort of Japanese Amy Lee kind of feel, honestly) and that may have reflected in this chapter, but that's alright. This chapter needed to be dark.


	31. Elegant Flower of Evil Part One

... Ugh.

That about summarizes how I am feeling going into this chapter. There's a lot to cover and my notes (which are less composed than could be hoped for, to my present regret) are all over the place for this battle, meaning I have to make some semblance of a good mixture of events coming in from all over the place while playing out the largest battle to date. We have Jeremiah's struggle against Gino, Lelouch's massive assault on Pendragon, five Knights of the Round dodging all over the place throughout (including Luciano, excluding Gino; the other five will be present in Pendragon, hence the exclusion of Gino), and a whole mess of plot development coming from ballpark random directions all the while. Phew. This is going to be a rough three chapters (two if I decide to merge the next two parts, on account of Part Two lacking substance – I probably won't need to, though, unless what I do have planned out ends up being less than I expect it to be), so sit back and enjoy. Well, enjoy if it's good. If it turns out as terrible as it very well could, feel free to throw the nearest projectile at me in retaliation.

And welcome back, monkeykixass! It's been a while since I've heard from you – at least a couple chapters, I think, but that just may be poor memory on my part. And insightful as always, you are, for actually asking the questions I expected people would ask. I'm trying to characterize Jeremiah more as a go-between model of what he was like in both season one and R2, his dedication to his work and his dedication to Lelouch more or less molding him into a very dedicated, but otherwise rigid man as opposed to the bag of moderate comic relief and mediocrity that he was in R2 – not that I disliked him, because I actually very much like Jeremiah, hence why he has kept such an important place in this story. And in Rolo's case, while I won't confirm whether or not there is any underlying malicious intent there, I will point out that I have not given any real reason for their to be a need for manipulation – he's not Lelouch's false brother in this fic, instead taking on the role of simply a faithful ally (with underlying reference to past torment at V.V.'s hands). But with Lelouch, especially with his increasingly steep descent into darkness, who knows? Except me, of course.

* * *

Some Knight of the Round he was, Gino thought in dismal resignation. They were supposed to be the best of the best, the soldiers who could do what could be expected of no other. They could change the tide of battle with relative ease and take out any foe placed before them. They were beyond the regular chain of command, beyond things so pioneer as military order. They were one-man armies in their own right, with free license to do as they pleased. And despite the foolishness in allowing such loose cannons to act freely on the battlefield, they got away with it because they were so faithful, so adamantly dedicated to the orders given to them by the Emperor himself. Their presence could thus be seen as the equivalent of the Emperor himself lending his aid to his armies.

So why was he suddenly feeling so weak? He was an ace in the Britannian military, having mastered piloting just about any aircraft by the age of fifteen, and likewise mastered Knightmare Frames just last year, at sixteen. He boasted prodigal talent for anything that could move through the air and his custom Vincent, outfitted with a unique design of float system that more closely resembled a jet's wings and a unique cockpit style similar to that of an aircraft, was no exception. The United States forces below him should have been a suspiciously small gathering of mice waiting to be picked off by him, the theoretical bird of prey for that particular scenario, and he should have already led his forces to victory and been celebrating with the various Generals and Lieutenants of their massive army, with frivolities that typically followed a monumental Britannian victory. And then, tomorrow he would be taking the fight to the United States, attacking their base along the Californian coast whether His Majesty authorized it or not.

Instead, he was forced to fend off two Akatsukis at once, holding his ground only because of his raw, superior skill. The difference in the specs of their Knightmare Frames was nearly nonexistent – the Akatsuki was, evidently, a mass-production Knightmare Frame largely deriving itself from the Vincent despite clearly being the successor to that strange Japanese Knightmare Frame, the Gekka – and so it came down to an odd match of their skill, where Gino's talents were offset by the fact that he was facing two foes at once. Just when he thought he might land a solid blow on one of them, the other opened fire at his feet from the double barreled gun mounted on it's left wrist, and he was forced to pull back before his MVS could make contact in order to save himself. That one managed to put some distance and brought up it's right arm while it's comrade continued to fire at him with it's hand gun, firing from the massive barreled cannon on it's right wrist. The shot missed, albeit narrowly, and instead made contact with the broad wall of the hangar behind him. The hangar's wall was immediately torn down, the interior catching fire and inevitably destroying what Knightmare Frames they still had stored within. What a pitiful waste, is something the old Emperor would say. But whether it was of his own inherent compassion or the effect his new charge had on him, Gino felt real sadness for that materialistic loss and the lives lost at the same time.

It had only been an hour since the battle had begun, but already the situation was proving to be far more dire than Gino had initially anticipated. Sutherland and Gloucester were falling like flies all around him, overwhelmed entirely by the strength of Jeremiah's forces. Counterattacks were made using sheer numbers as their source of strength, and even then they were hard pressed to score a single victory over the enemy. Jeremiah had seized control of their barracks with help from his ground forces, which Gino belatedly realized he should have taken measures against even with the unlikelihood of infantry being used in a battle so heavily reliant on Knightmare Frames., and had turned the run down building into a base of operations of sorts on the base itself. From there everything had begun to go downhill for them, Gino acknowledged, and their forces were struggling simply for the purpose of not losing more ground than they already had. Shamefully enough, they needed reinforcements, in spite of so vastly outnumbering the enemy.

Gino activated the MSV shields on his legs – yet another feature specifically given to his Vincent, in spite of the inability to do so with the mass-production variant of the Knightmare Frame, for which he was endlessly grateful – and charged, pulling out one of his MVS while he made for the other Akatsuki, which was still preparing to fire from it's massive arm cannon again. He reached it before that became a problem, and the cannon was instantly detached from it's arm in favor of a chain spear, resulting in a clash between the two. Gino smirked and fired the slash harken on his right hip, sending it upward so that it impaled through the Frame's chest and through the cockpit. Even though the Knightmare Frame was still in relatively good condition, save perhaps for a gaping hole in it's chest, the punctured cockpit left the Frame without a pilot, and it slumped motionlessly to the side. He pulled back quickly as the other Frame's barrage of fire began where his feet had been seconds before, and without full power in the shields on his Frame's calfs – or so said the blinking '78 percent' on the screen to his left, which might as well have meant, "It's your funeral, buddy." - being in one place for more than a second and a half was probably not a good idea. Not one bit.

Why, why, _why_ did they have to be so strong? The old days were far more simple, when their side was the only one with any remotely advancing technology in Knightmare Frames. With India's help both China and Japan had been close behind, with the Euro Universe close behind them in turn, but up until India's rapidly made improvements on the Gekka to make the Akatsuki, Britannia had still had the edge. Granted that edge had meant little when their troops were falling into pitfalls or being decimated by one great tactic or another, but they'd still had the edge on a technological level. But now... Gino groaned as he continued to try, unsuccessfully, to close the wide distance between him and his sole remaining foe. He could easily use his float system, but that would insinuate that he needed an unfair advantage to overcome his foes. And while he could admit that the embarrassingly difficult fight was growing tiresome, he was not so desperate as to need such an advantage.

His embarrassingly difficult quest to take out the last of his assailants was inevitably halted when his factsphere sensors acted of their own accord, warning him of an approaching signal from behind – very swiftly, at that. He turned around just in time to throw up both of his MVS in defense against an identical attack from two MVS swords. The shimmering silver of Jeremiah's Edinburgh nearly blinded Gino with it's brilliance, the sun reflecting off of it's entire body brightly, so brightly that Gino had to grab his military issued viser and throw it over his eyes to keep the glow from disturbing him. Jeremiah backed off from him instantly, putting further distance between them by way of a well aimed kick straight into the chest of Gino's Vincent, resulting in a rather nauseous sort of vibration to shake him as his landspinners rolled backwards from the force. He quickly adjusted himself to remain in place, but by then it was a repeat of the last scenario – he had to throw up his arm quickly, else he would have been cleaved open.

Gino's sensors unnecessarily warned him of the presence of his former foe, but before he could do anything about it, several Sutherland were speeding in to remedy the situation. One instantly fell to the firepower released from the Akatsuki's arm gun, and as the other three approached they found their sorely outmatched selves forced into a rather strange three-on-one duel using their batons and, in the case of their lone foe, the chain spear. Assured that he had his back covered, Gino pushed at Jeremiah with everything he had, forcing both of them to frequently shift their landspinner equipped feet so as to keep their footing. With a bit more effort they were in a death race of sorts, Gino speeding across the paved ground while Jeremiah backpedaled at a pace to match, neither weakening the force their clashed weapons produced as they grinded – loudly – against one another. Gino shot his leg out to trip and Jeremiah accordingly pulled his leg away, and when Jeremiah shot out his free hand to land a blow, Gino grabbed it almost effortlessly.

He was thrown for a loop, however, as the pressure on his sword was suddenly removed and he summarily fell forward. Jeremiah took that chance and struck, cleaving the float system off of his back with precise accuracy. The second swing was caught by his own MVS and the death race began anew, minus his float system, which actually afforded him the opportunity to put better focus on a great many other things that he hadn't had the power to do anything about before. His damaged MSV shields were repaired almost instantly and the traction in his feet was restored, both of which gave him enough of an edge to even out the playing field. He shoved his leg forward while activating the MSV shield that guarded it, slamming the shield into the Edinburgh's leg and forcing the entire Frame to fall slightly as it continued to backpedal, pieces of metal flying out from where their two legs were connected.

As they disentangled from one another Jeremiah fell slightly to the side, his now-damaged right leg fighting to keep up with the rest of him. Before Gino could make act on his newfound advantage, obvious warnings - "Incoming!", "Warning!", and the like – told him to move to the side, which he did just as the Akatsuki previously thought indisposed slid by, it's chain spear poised to strike. "This is getting ridiculous!" Gino spat without mirth. Had people been able to see him in this bemused state of focus, they'd know that his trademark – and possibly biologically caused – mirth for just about any situation had died a sudden and unceremonious death. He charged at his new – old? - foe and slashed at him feebly with his MVS, but all that served to do was result in another deadlock that caused a not so pleasant screech of metal where the arm connected to the rest of his Frame's body. Uh-oh?

"Uh-oh," Gino echoed his thoughts as the Akatsuki moved aside to make room for Jeremiah, sporting a slightly – very – damaged leg but otherwise still in perfect condition. His MVS slammed against Gino's still raised one, and as that same screech rang out again, his arm detached itself from the rest of the Frame's body, and Jeremiah pulled back before they sloppily collided with one another. The controls that typically made the left arm move suddenly ceased to function, unsurprisingly, and Gino grumbled out his frustration while putting the whole of his focus on moving the only arm still operable – operable, Gino noted, meaning attached.

Jeremiah took no pause in attacking again, distracted only by the momentary annoyance of Gino throwing out his leg in a repeated tripping attempt that had about the same level of success as it had before. He threw up whatever shields may have helped – the only on his right wrist, and the one on his chest – and drew his other MVS before blocking Jeremiah's attack, grunting at the straining effort it put on him. "You're stronger than I thought, Knight," Jeremiah called in a mocking tone, though it was anything but that in reality. "But you're facing Jeremiah Gottwald! For the success of Master Lelouch, I will not fall here!"

Since the pretend-that-their-opponent-didn't-know-who-they-were act seemed to sit just fine with Jeremiah, Gino decided to play along for the sake of a lighter undertone to their brutal, savage and otherwise mood-dampening battle – light undertones were always a good thing in the supposedly bright and sunny world of Gino Weinberg, even if the sun in the sky fell at the same time for him as it did for everybody else. "I will not let Britannia fall! You guys can take whatever you want from the rest of the world, but so long as the Knights of the Round remain, Britannia will not fall!"

"Bold words for a decoy," Jeremiah quipped, knocking Gino's MVS aside before going in with his left arm – the one that Gino had no arm with which to respond. He quickly moved to the side, dodging the attack, before activating the MSV shield on his arm to block the swing from the right that immediately followed. He closed the narrow distance between them and brought up his right arm, slamming the needle blazer on his elbow toward Jeremiah. He quickly moved to the side, but the shoulder joint of his right arm was still caught by the needle blazer and, seconds later, blown from the rest of the body with electric force.

"A strong decoy!" Gino heartilly quipped in return, before the last word of that quip registered to him – and with that, the fact that he'd been called a decoy in the first place. "A decoy?" he asked stupidly, as the two of them began the awkward battle of fighting with only one arm, thankfully on opposite sides of their respective Frames, which meant being saved from the even more awkward possibility of their arms being on the same side, thus resulting in them each attacking the gap where there was no arm. That would be embarrassing.

"While you are here, fighting the great Jeremiah Gottwald, Pendragon will fall!" Jeremiah exclaimed, firing off a slash harken from his hip. Gino matched it with one of his own, tangling the two together and joining them at the hip – heh. Gino wanted to laugh at the unintended humor there, but he promptly remembered that the man who's hip he was joined to was not a long time friend, and that the hip he was joined to was not a man's at all, but in fact the hip of a Knightmare Frame very capable of killing him. They both dropped their MVS swords and clashed fists, first together and then at various parts of the other's Frame, like old friends in a childish fistfight. Gino made a note that associating a fight to the death with a childhood fistfight between friends was rather depressing.

Realizing his thought process was going in a rather comically wrong direction, Gino focused instead on working himself free from their bind and processing the fact that Jeremiah had just said that Pendragon was going to fall. That wasn't possible, right? Water separating Lelouch from them, no way of reaching Pendragon without getting through either him or their Atlantic Fleet, and all that. "Impossible," he thusly replied, ignoring the fact that impossible probably shouldn't be used to describe the endeavors of the man who had conquered two thirds of the world in less than a year.

"Contingency plans using the Geass, several months ago," Jeremiah explained, careful to leave the mostly unknown detail of Lelouch no longer having the Geass out of the explanation. "Pendragon will be destroyed, and what is left of it will fall to Master Lelouch."

Gino's thoughts become muddled as they begin a new round of assaulting, exchanging blows while keeping one another within arm's length – the slash harkens tying them together make sure of that. Gino casts away thoughts of His Majesty's ill fate as impossibilities, attempts made only to confuse and to distract. There was no way that even Lelouch could so easily reach Pendragon, Gino was sure. Lelouch would have to come through California, and while Gino was not sure that was a good thing either – an army of forty Knightmare Frames holding their own against so many meant that Lelouch evening the playing field could mean their immediate defeat – it was preferable to an impossible surprise attack on Pendragon.

o---o

It was an expected eventuality, if only because it had happened in past generations, that the throne room would be made into a makeshift war room the moment danger arose. While Pendragon had never suffered from worse than a meager terrorist assault during the reign of the 57th Emperor, the plans made in the event of an assault on the capital had not changed, and were thus employed in the same manner when the massive forces of the Anti-Britannian Front threatened their homes with powerful Knightmare Frames and the destruction of their underground tunnels. This left Odysseus facing his ultimate judgment; being made the unofficial Commander-in-Chief, replacing the actual Commander-in-Chief, Ricardo Emland, in his duties.

The problem was, Odysseus had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He knew a thing or two from when Schneizel would offer for him to join him in battle and from when he would occasionally play overseer of an operation, but his knowledge ran no farther than that. Unlike Lelouch, Schneizel and Clovis, Odysseus had never been a master of chess. He had never held an interest in tactics or anything of the sort. Up until his unofficial rise to the throne, he had held no real aspirations. The throne was his birthright rather than something he deserved, and he had honestly always thought he would be denied his birthright in favor of somebody more worthy of it.

"Our first line of defense has asserted their position to stop the enemy, and we are preparing to defend the line around the governmental offices on the border of St. Darwin Street," the actual Commander-in-Chief said informatively, directing Odysseus' attention to a red line on their map of the city that they'd laid out across the table now occupying the middle of the massive room. Below it was a blue line, and right in front of it was a black arrow acting as representation of the Anti-Britannian Front, who had rather unceremoniously taken control of the civilian districts and were trying to breach the line stopping them from entering the now lowered portion of the city, resting upon destroyed, leveled plates. Already, their army was struggling to hold the lines they had established, and none too few had resigned when the call to arms for previously sleeping soldiers had been made. Contrary to popular belief, the remaining men in their army clearly weren't the bravest of the brave.

"They have better weapons, and a larger army!" the man across from him, Major General Ronald Ashford – of no relation to the Ashford family who had backed Lady Marianne up until her death, Odysseus added – said. He was quite possibly the youngest man there, younger even than their middle-aged Emperor, and was hardly older than thirty years of age. He had richly colored brown hair so dark it could pass for black, and the beginnings of a beard on his chin, not rough and unkempt but rather carefully cared for. "And their leader is a boy who's exploits make any sane man spit in the face of any who would call the young foolish. I can count on one hand the number of men who could do what he has done, and none of them live still! How are we supposed to face such a man?"

"Are you suggesting we surrender?" Ricardo boomed, slamming his hands down on the table. His very long and very grey hair swung from side to side with the effort of the motion. "Britannia has led this world as it's strongest superpower since the days of my namesake! We cannot consider surrendering to the discarded progeny of our great empire! I don't care that he is the son of that consort Marianne, or that he has wit that surpasses the White Prince! He is our waste, discarded because he was weak! Whether or not that is still the case is irrelevant; we cannot bend our knee to him, or any other!"

The man next to Ricardo nodded, waves of curled blond hair bobbing back and forth as his head swung down and then back up. The Grand General and Head Admiral of the Atlantic Fleet, Elbert Kingman, rested nearly a head shorter than the Commander-in-Chief which, despite having reached his full height a good two decades ago, was fitting of the age difference between them. "He is right, Your Majesty. We have not bent our knee to another since The Humiliation of Edinburgh, and it would be degrading to begin doing so now. We may be weaker and fewer in number, but if we can hold out until the Knight of Three can return, we have a chance."

"If he comes at all," Guinevere noted. She had one hand placed on the table, her index finger running along it's edge and over her brother's hands on it's quest to the corner of the table, where it began a return trip. Her left arm was wrapped securely around Odysseus' waist, stilling the violent shaking that would otherwise be visible to the entire room. He did not want to be there one bit, and Guinevere couldn't help feeling a bit of contempt for those assembled for making him remain present. He had never taken a life, directly or indirectly, and the thought of having to order people to do so was making him ill. Guinevere was faring much better with her iron will, but she hadn't ever taken a life either, and she doubted she'd be any better suited for the task than her brother. She was suited for an easy life of luxury and aiding her brother – and caring for that worthless man she bitterly referred to as her husband – not for commanding and plotting. The closest thing she'd done to plotting was conspiring against her mother when she and Odysseus had found her to be the adulterer she was. Which, in hindsight, she'd had every right to be when her husband's many consorts were considered.

Ah, those were good times, Guinevere thought reminiscently. Even then it was just her and Odysseus, providing each other the comfort and companionship nobody else dared to give them. They'd been model siblings in a way, looking out for one another in a way that most parents longed to see in their children. Their parents hadn't cared, of course, but that was probably why they were that way in the first place. They were friends, siblings, parental figures and lovers all at once, giving one another the affection and care they didn't get from anybody else. Now that she thought about it, Nunnally and Lelouch had been like their children; they both looked up to their eldest siblings greatly, and back then Lelouch had adored Odysseus nearly as much as Schneizel and Clovis.

Odysseus had been everything to her back then, and that hadn't really changed. When she was a lovesick teenager, they had shared their first kiss with one another – experimentally, they had assured one another at the time. They had outings with one another that, had it been anybody else, would probably have been dates. When she had been married off politically their relationship had reverted back to it's strictly sibling-like state – by twenty, she'd rationalized that there had been nothing sibling-like about their relationship – and they had simply looked out for one another, careful to keep that bit of distance between them that they realized should have been there all along. And yet she had always felt from then on like they hadn't been close enough, and she had never really been satisfied with the way their relationship had been since. With age she'd come to ignore it, but recent developments – namely, the excuse to openly ignore her husband in favor of her brother – had caused such thoughts to resurface.

"What do you mean?" Elbert asked warily, as though fearing the answer. At the stage they were at, facing the collapse of the entire empire, he probably did.

"Lelouch thought this out well," Guinevere said with a mocking show of admiration. "Jeremiah Gottwald is assaulting our forces in California so fiercely that even if they do prevail, they'll be so battered that they will hardly be of any help here. And then we have to consider the possibility of them not making at all." She tightened her grip on her brother's waist when she felt his shaking grow just a bit stronger at her admission, for which she shot her a grateful smile. "We can hope for the extra help, but it isn't something to hold out on."

"Our forces cannot hold out forever, and many were lost when the tunnels were collapsed," Ricardo stated, rubbing at his stubble covered chin. "And our air forces, while not lacking, have all but been demolished by that damned Gawain. Why we gave the White Prince the opportunity to have that thing made is beyond me."

"Regardless," Odysseus quickly cut in, deterring the discussion away from a pointless topic, "what do we do?" Beneath her hand, Guinevere could feel trailing drops of sweat running down her brother's back and began idly stroking it comfortingly. He was obviously growing more and more nervous by being so out of his element.

"Hope the Knights of the Round can hold them off?" Edward tried, a stretch even by his own imagination. Asking that much of five soldiers, even if they were five of the best Britannia had, was unreasonable.

"We will need to rely heavily upon the aid they can provide," Ricardo agreed – sort of. He ran a hand across his forehead, trying as best he could to keep perspiration from being evident. Guinevere's eyes swept over him fleetingly, deciding in an instant that he'd failed horribly. His military uniform clung far too tightly to him for it to be normal, and there were noticeable dark patches of sweat growing from beneath his arms. Not to mention his hair looked more than a little slick, and not in a manner that was the least bit attractive. Yeah, he looked like an absolute joy to be within smelling range of. "Only the Vincent can match their Knightmare Frames, and without a mass-production variant we have to rely on them. That or use overwhelming numbers, but that option is hardly available. Not to mention that Camelot's damned Hadron technology makes using such force virtually pointless – a well aimed shot and we'd lose the majority of them, anyway."

"And what of the Lancelot? And that red one, for that matter?" Ronald demanded, his voice shaking just a little. Quite the brave General they had there, Guinevere quipped to herself. She thought better of making that thought known. "The Vincent is based off of the Lancelot, and Kururugi could probably match the Knight of One! Did you see his performance rating when Lloyd tested him? Ninety-four percent! We haven't seen ratings that high since Her Majesty Marianne in the Ganymede! Even Lord Waldstein only got an eighty-nine for the Vincent, and he was the best we had! Ignoring his unfortunate loss, how are we supposed to match Kururugi and another who, by all accounts, could very well be his equal as a pilot! They are invincible with skill like that!"

"Stop!" Odysseus cried. The force with which his body wanted to shake caused Guinevere herself to shake while trying to keep a strong, comforting hold on her brother. If anybody noticed, they wisely ignored it. "We cannot surrender to pure force, but fighting will not get us anywhere either. Is that the general opinion?" Nods from all of the important military officials present followed, and Odysseus felt something like a judge giving his final verdict on judgment day. "Then the solution is simple: fight, flee, do whatever you feel is best. I will stand strong and wait for Lelouch, as I am sure he will come here to settle things at some point. Whether you want to go out there and command your men to fight bravely or if you want to return home to your family, nobody in this room shall be permitted to judge you. The choice is all your's."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Guinevere took the brief pause in Ricardo's speech to assure herself that nothing respectful was following, "that simply cannot be. We either fight or we flee. Your word alone will not spare anyone the humiliation of deserting at such a crutial moment, whether there is to be a suicidal battle or not."

"I will not condemn any of you to a possible death," Odysseus stated as calmly as he could manage – despite this, Guinevere could noticeably feel sweat now pouring down his back. "Nor will I state that you must run away. I understand what you are saying, Commander, but it is not a decision I can comfortably make. Think me weak if you wish to, but I never claimed to be the good war maker my brothers are."

Ricardo opened his mouth with the obvious attempt to rebuke His Majesty's foolish behaviour but a quick glare from Guinevere, as it had to so many others, rendered him silent on the matter immediately. "V-very well, Your Majesty. I will fight, however. Permission to take command of the main line at St, Darwin's?"

"Of course," Odysseus replied hastily. "This rank is your's, Commander, not mine. I trust you to return safely, however."

Guinevere didn't think it would be a good idea to point out that Ricardo's performance rating was the same as Kururugi's – if the numbers were to be flipped, that is. While he was a celebrated commander that fought toe to toe with Japan's General Todo during the Second Pacific War, his fighting capabilities once placed inside the cockpit of a Knightmare Frame were less than spectacular. The odds of him returning from the cockpit of a Knightmare Frame was slim at best, disregarding the possibility of him facing one of the United States' two aces. Instead, she managed a smile as feral as she'd ever managed, and eyed each of the assembled officials in turn. "Will any of you be opposing His Majesty's decision, then? Or will you accept his good faith and choose your own fate?"

Of them all, only Ricardo, Edward and a handful others decided to stay. Odysseus' judgment day-like order seemed all too fitting at that point.

o---o

Feeling her head pulse with a faint, familiar headache, Anya Alstreim pulled up the arm of her cockpit chair to her right, pulling out a small bottle of pills and an accompanying bottle of water. After shoving three of the tiny pills down her throat she sagged in her seat, letting the growing relief in her head consume her briefly. Monica continued to ramble on about a self-righteous need to fight for the future of the Britannian Empire but Anya, aloof and detached, cared nothing for what she had to say. All that mattered was her own thoughts, her own reasons for fighting. Reasons her diagnosed amnesia wouldn't allow her to remember, but they were there all the same.

"We are the Knights of the Round!" Monica cried, and faintly Luciano could be heard chuckling derisively at the remark. Anya couldn't really fault him for finding the self-glorifying spiel amusing, though she herself failed to find the same amusement in the statement. "Will we be the ones to roll over and let the work of His Majesty Ricardo Von Britannia be torn apart by a large group of terrorists? That's what these men are; army or not, union of nations or otherwise, Lelouch Vi Britannia and his allies are terrorists and wanted people within the Britannian community! They are the ones who resulted in the death of His Highness Prince Clovis," she had the decency to pause in her idealistic babble while Luciano laughed uproariously at that, "and they took from us the Knight of One! Not again! Not again will they take from us what we hold dear! If all we have is this dilapidated city, let us defend it to the death! All hail Britannia!"

Normally, when somebody so forcefully paid respect to their nation with those words, the end result would be a resounding cry of other people echoing that person's bold cry. So it was sort of embarrassing – for Monica, but Anya could feel the embarrassment with a palpable disgust – when nobody rose to the occasion of answering her call. Unlike Monica, who believed in striving for victory to the bitter end, they were far more logical. They knew that this battle was Britannia's final hour, and the goal was not to fight to win, but rather to join the Knight of One in a glorious death. Terrorists as their enemies or not, this battle would be their finest, and their last. Anya herself didn't see the merit in dying so meaninglessly, but she didn't care enough to go against it. What was the point of fighting it, anyway?

"You guys do whatever you like," Luciano sighed, though his voice still had a sadistic lift to it that chilled Anya's core. "I've got a score to settle with the Black Prince. Charles went and told me he didn't take too kindly to me during our last meeting at Mt. Fuji."

"W-wait!" Monica cried, breaking her holier-than-thou silence all too quickly. "You're charging out there? Shouldn't we stick together?" The idea sounded so stupid, not even Monica could make it convincing. Anya would have laughed if she'd had the heart to do so.

"Woman," Luciano growled, "what's your most important thing?"

"That's..." Monica stuttered, coming to a blank when she tried to answer that question. Anya finally managed a smile, small and mocking, while she checked the performance rating on the Hadron cannon Camelot had so kindly outfitted the chest of her Vincent with. It was a little erratic and it couldn't be controlled like the Gawain's could – Lloyd had been annoyed to no end with his inability to match that destructive breakthrough – but it served it's purpose; to destroy things. Unsurprisingly it slowed her Knightmare Frame down dramatically while it was charging, but that suited her style more anyway. Slow and destructive; let those guys who thought speed was the one thing that made a Knightmare Frame a grand success do what they wished.

"Life!" Luciano declared gleefully. "If I take that from this kid, they'll fall apart!" As though that explained everything that demanded explaining, Luciano dropped his landspinners and tore across the cracked, paved road briefly before taking off into the brightly lit sky, heading straight for the tall, imposing figure of the Gawain in the distant sky. The two cone-shaped pieces on it's shoulders opened and it's Hadron cannons fired, making the sky shine brighter still with a long line of explosions in front of it, followed by a couple smoking and swiftly descending aircrafts heading for the ground. An aircraft that was just barely visible high up continued on it's course toward the Gawain, only to be caught by the slash harken in it's left thumb. A lone explosion made itself known in the sky before the distant figure of Luciano's Vincent clashed with the Gawain, slowly drawing both of them further and further away from the battle.

A tense silence followed, broken moments later when Monica began chuckling very nervously. "W-well..." she murmured, a strained smile in her voice. "Attack?" she added tentatively, but the inflexion at the end made it sound like a question. Anya disregarded it though, having already spotted the Lancelot very distantly, cutting through Sutherland from within the midst of dilapidated buildings and crushed stone. The black secondary color was especially visible with the way that the white of the Knightmare Frame glowed.

"Traitor," Anya murmured casually, tearing off across the ground. She activated her float system whenever something that might have endangered her journey appeared before her, soaring over it before landing on the ground again. It really should have been night though; the sight of the destroyed scenery in broad daylight left a sort of ill, unfamiliar feeling in the pit of her stomach. And that Lancelot, the traitor who had turned on Britannia so fickle and memory-reliant as friendship, was the right hand of the man who had so carelessly killed so many. War was full of sacrifice, and Anya could embrace that as readily as anyone else. But the sort of destruction they caused simply to satisfy themselves was terrible, and it was unforgivable.

"Die," Anya growled, an unfamiliar anger bubbling in her heart as she slowed to a stop, firing the Hadron cannon in her chest. The stream was erratic, waving about, but it hit it's desired mark, destroying the three Akatsuki just in front of the Lancelot. This drew her target's attention, and they drew their MVS swords just before clashing together. It was obvious who was stronger, but the Lancelot had a hidden strength inside of it that had it keeping up with her anyway.

"A Knight of the Round, huh?" Suzaku called heatedly, backing off and kicking Anya to the side. She recovered quickly and fired her Hadron cannon again, but gritted her teeth when she got nothing but a few short bursts of energy flying in random directions. "And an incomplete Hadron cannon? Britannia really has fallen!"

"Shut up, traitor," Anya sighed, easily maneuvering herself to dodge when Suzaku closed the distance and swung again, responding with a swing of her right arm that caught him in the side, sending him sprawling into an already partially crushed building, forcing the rest to collapse around him. "Traitors must be taken out."

"This world needs a future!" The rubble shattered and flew in all directions, revealing a slightly tattered Lancelot with it's VARIS rifle held outward, smoldering at the barrel from having just fired. "Britannia is living in the past!"

"And what sort of future do you have?" Anya challenged, dodging when Suzaku fired again. He closed the distance between them and dropped toward the ground, holding himself on his hands as his legs rocketed toward the cannon on her Frame's chest. She quickly moved to the side, ducking when he followed through with a kick to the side. As his leg tried to pull back, she grabbed it and flipped him overhead, smashing him into the ground on her other side. "I have no past. Your future is one that will never satisfy me, terrorist."

Suzaku sprung to his feet, fist slamming into the side of Anya's Frame and knocking her aside. As she collided with the wall behind her, it broke and she fell back into the dusting rubble. "A future that satisfies everybody is too idealistic," Suzaku murmured. "We need a future that can lead us to a world that satisfies everybody!"

"And what about you?" Anya murmured, pulling herself out of the rubble with more effort than it should have taken. "Will your future satisfy you?"

Suzaku was in front of her by the time she had righted herself, and it took all of her coordination to block before one of his MVS swords cleaved across her chest. He wasn't the least bit deterred though, and Anya found herself fighting to keep swing after swing from two MVS swords at bay. Her efforts became fruitless when she was again pressed into a wall, although this time she managed to fire a slash harken and launch herself up onto the wall as he attacked. She swiftly sprung down, knocking into him as he steered away. His kick that followed succeeded in slamming her through the wall, and it was only through very careful movements that she managed to land with her landspinners righting themselves, keeping her upright.

Suzaku was close behind, flying through the opening made when she'd been sent through the wall, both MVS swords ready for another duel. Anya swiftly pulled out her own and met him, yelping in surprise when the force of him attacking while still hovering lightly in the air sent her reeling across the ground. The wheels of her landspinners finally caught a bit of lifted pavement and she flew back, but with quick reflexes she activated her own float system, protecting her from a possibly dangerous landing. The two retreated into the air, swords clashing constantly. Suzaku had an advantage in the MSV shields on his wrists, but as Anya ducked under a sword swing, she swiftly brought out her elbow and slammed her needle blazer into the small buckler on the Lancelot's left wrist, destroying one of it's shields. In turn Suzaku stabbed one of his MVS swords through the open barrel of the Hadron cannon protruding from her Frame's chest, removing his sword but also neutralizing the erratically threatening weapon. A well aimed kick to the sword in her chest sent her flying toward the ground, with Suzaku in hot pursuit.

Both suddenly went still as a massive explosion behind Suzaku sent debris flying through the air in all directions. As the smoky dust settled, the Guren flew out from the midst of a massive circle of wreckage, holding the charred and severed head of Monica's Vincent. It didn't take a genius to figure out that one of the Knights of the Round had already died in the midst of their desperate struggle – though it was ironic that their first casualty was the only one who didn't see this as anything more than a valiant fight for their country. The Guren immediately turned toward them when they were spotted below it, but before Suzaku's reinforcements could arrive they were tackled aside by Nonette's Vincent, a bright purple and sporting two slightly longer variations of the MVS swords in it's attached backpack, beneath it's float system wings. Karen quickly turned in the air and kicked Nonette away, but that left her ultimately indisposed for the moment.

Seeing Karen already a bit battered from her fight with Monica and subsequently struggling, Suzaku turned and prepared to take off into the air again. Anya quickly took hold of his left leg and spun him in the air, launching him into the wall to their left, one of the four wings on his float system breaking off as he made contact. A loud grunt reached Anya's ears as he crashed into the ground, sending some of the paint and even more of the metallic coating on the Frame's body flying to either side of it. He recovered quickly, though, launching upward and kicking away from the rubble surrounding him, heading straight for Anya. She briefly saw the devil in the Knightmare Frame moving toward her, with it's coal black lines and the blood red of it's eyes. She barely managed to move to the side before the devilish Knightmare Frame soared by, sword swinging.

Anya had never felt so exhilerated in a battle before. Emotional detachment had always been something present in every aspect of her life, but at that moment, she couldn't help the tight lipped smile on her face as she swung her leg out at Suzaku, who narrowly avoided it by lifting his leg and activating the MSV shield there. Her blood raced and she longed to take out her oppnent, not just for being a traitor but also because he'd been such a fair and worthy fight. Such things were seldom found for a Knight of the Round, and Anya wanted to feel every bit of satisfaction there was to be felt in such a fight.

Even if she would inevitably forget it eventually.

o---o

MVS swords clashed brutally, Jeremiah's left arm struggling against the force with which Gino's right arm swung. His brow was drenched with sweat from the intensity of their fight, but he still had enough awareness to realize that the battle around them was starting to calm down. Either the momentum carried by his vastly outnumbered forces had finally run out, or their momentum had spearheaded them through the Britannian forces with shocking determination. At this point, Jeremiah was surprised to admit that both were possible. His men weren't the blatant casualties he had thought them to be, though they were still pawns in a much bigger game.

In the midst of battle Gino had managed to recover his other MVS, putting them together into their MVS spear form, locking together at the hilt. The weapon proved exceptionally more poweful than a single MVS, and keeping up with it's power was an effort of it's own. It didn't help that Gino was probably the better pilot, and that their Knightmare Frames were relatively even in strength. Jeremiah felt himself growing increasingly exhausted with the desperate fight they'd been waging for what had felt like several hours, though Jeremiah wasn't sure how long it had actually been. His muscles were aching from the strain being placed on them, and the need to retreat and find a warm bed somewhere to climb into was mounting on his determined subconscious.

That determined subconscious promptly pulled out a steel mallet and smashed the mounting exhaustion over the head, reminding him of his need to make sure Master Lelouch had enough time to make his plans a success. Contrary to what Master Lelouch had said regarding the importance of Jeremiah's life, he was relatively sure that his own life was relatively meaningless if it was lost making sure Master Lelouch conquered Britannia. But if he could live, and possibly even take a Knight of the Round captive... Well, that was a best case scenario, at any rate. Jeremiah knew what hoping for best case scenarios did to a hopeful man's psych, and he hadn't particularly enjoyed being in contact with such people. Scary ones, they were.

He manoeuvred ducks and weaves, desperately avoiding the erratic, voulge-like twirling of the MVS lance. When he could, he blocked with his MVS, but the result sent him smashing through the iron wall of another building on the base, smashing through two parked vehicles before he fell to his knees, digging his one hand into the ground to halt himself. Gino followed close and fired a slash harken, but Jeremiah swung his MVS sword in the way and let the weapon wind itself around the blade. Once it had, Jeremiah harshly drew Gino to him before launching a slash harken upward, narrowly missing the cockpit attached to the Vincent's back as it tore through the Frame's chest.

This didn't so much as phase the Knight's resolve, and if it did it wasn't noticeable to Jeremiah. Gino kicked away from him, breaking free of his own slash harken binding from the force. His MVS spear came in swinging a moment later, and with great effort Jeremiah managed to block the attack with his sword. Again the force sent him reeling, but briefly bringing his landspinners up afforded him enough traction to prevent another unfortunate mishap. But he misjudged exactly how long the MVS spear was if Gino were to put it's entire length into the equation, and Jeremiah wasn't fast enough to avoid the spear tearing open his Frame's chest, leaving a bit of his cockpit open for the Knight to see. He could feel air whipping at his face now, which was a sensation he was unfamiliar with while piloting a Knightmare Frame.

But after being cramped in the increasingly heated confines of that cockpit for so long, it felt immensely refreshing. That was until they clashed again, houwever, with the violent force of their attacks sending powerful blasts of wind at his face, like invisible knives cutting at his cheeks. He winced every few seconds as their weapons drew back and clashed again, as though trying to beat the other pointlessly into submission. Finally, when his face felt as though it had been cut to shreds by a particularly sadistic torturer – one that took pleasure in seeing his face as bloodied as it could possibly be without him actually dying, Jeremiah was sure, in spite of the fact that his face wasn't bleeding at all – he pulled away and grabbed for a rifle, opening fire on Gino to create some much needed distance between them. The necessity to keep moving didn't help his numbed face at all.

"It's funny," Gino called out, his voice deathly serious and completely unlike the humorous boy Jeremiah had thought himself to be fighting up until that moment. "Lelouch has so many powerful people at his side, and how many of them betrayed Britannia for his sake?"

Jeremiah ignored the traitorous quip and kept firing, but this bold plan of his was quickly running out of bullets and he didn't have much time to think of a new tactic. Boldly, he tossed his rifle aside and charged, pulling out his MVS as he went. Gino thrust his MVS spear at him, but Jeremiah quickly swerved out of the way. Before Gino could move Jeremiah caught him in the stomach of the Knightmare Frame with a slash harken, holding him at length as he closed in. "I fight for my own convictions! The progeny of Lady Marianne shall always be my master!" Gino was utterly helpless as Jeremiah closed the remaining distance between them, piercing his chest with another slash harken while with his sword he cut off the top of the Frame's cockpit, revealing the grim faced Gino Weinberg.

"What good are convictions if you had to sacrifice what you held dear?" Gino called back. In spite of now being fully visible, Gino managed to pull his MVS spear back enough to make it at least somewhat threatening. Before it could make good on that threat, though, Jeremiah knocked it aside with his sword. The poor way with which Gino had been forced to hold it made keeping his hold on it impossible, and the weapon flew from his Frame's one hand and embedded itself into the ground nearby. Jeremiah followed with a swing to the joint connecting the Vincent's sole remaining arm to the main body, detaching it and leaving it to drop lifelessly to the ground at their feet.

"My loyalty has always been with Lady Marianne!" Jeremiah cried, keeping a firm hold on the now helpless Knightmare Frame, left with only it's slash harkens and needle blazers as weapons. "When she was murdered in cold blood, it was her memory I served! To follow her son to hell is the only way I may serve her now."

"Would Her Majesty have wanted you to betray Britannia?" Gino cried back. The Vincent wiggled a bit in the firm grasp Jeremiah now had on it, but otherwise Gino remained perfectly calm. There was still a deep scowl on his face, however, remaining as a reminder of the stark contrast in his usually jolly demeanor. "Was betraying Britannia something that would have pleased her?"

"Lady Marianne loved her children," Jeremiah shot back obstinately. He stood in his seat, making sure that the firm hold he maintained on Gino's Vincent would hold, and proceeded to climb out of the hold made in his Frame's chest. With careful coordination he ran along the length of the wire between his Frame's hip and where the slash harken was embedded in the Vincent's chest, leaping off and onto the shoulder when he ran out of wire to run along. Fumbling momentarily, he grabbed the standard handgun holstered at his side before climbing over the shoulder, running down to the cleaved open cockpit where Gino was only just beginning to catch wind of what was happening. Skilled pilot he may have been, but it appeared to Jeremiah that he lacked the necessary paranoia of a good soldier. Before Gino could finish fumbling about himself, Jeremiah was looming over the cockpit, his handgun trained with a clean shot at Gino's face.

Gino raised an eyebrow as if to dare Jeremiah to take the shot, in spite of his slightly quivering body and slightly fearful eyes. Jeremiah simply shook his head, flipping the gun in his hand once before firing a large red button amidst the controls in front of Gino, destroying the Vincent's cockpit ejection. "You're more useful to Master Lelouch alive," he said by way of explanation. "A Knight of the Round lives to serve the royal family, right? Live, and dedicate that life to Master Lelouch."

"The traitorous Black Prince?" Gino spat. The quivering in his body intensified, but whether it was increasing fear or anger that caused it, Jeremiah wasn't sure. "No! A Knight of the Round serves Britannia to the death!"

"Non-negotiable," Jeremiah chided, directing with a tilt of his head to the broken ejection button in front of Gino. "Come back with me as Master Lelouch's loyal knight, or as my prisoner. Your choice."

o---o

"Is this how the Knights of the Round fight?" Karen cried. The Knightmare Frame directly in front of her made sure she was never far away, always keeping her within range of the long MVS swords the bright purple Vincent boasted. It didn't help that another, blood red Vincent was just behind it, complicating matters with a rifle in either hand, both firing in annoying – relatively nonthreatening, but annoying – tandem. She hadn't gotten so much as a shot off since the blood red Vincent had joined the fray, the pilot announcing herself as Dorothea Ernst; a powerful Knight of the Round, but then again they all were. And that distinction certainly hadn't mattered a whole lot in defeating the Knight of Twelve.

"Big words for a terrorist!" Nonette – the one with the lengthened MVS swords had identified herself as such – called back. With an effort Karen blocked a sword swing by using her Fukushahado wave as a shield, but before she could counter she was forced to move aside as a hail of bullets flew in her direction. She continued to move with the bullets by staying just barely ahead of Dorothea's turning, but the tactic was complicated by her being interrupted, again, by her other foe. She quickly grabbed her optional, short bladed fork knife and blocked one of the swords with it, grasping the other sword with her claw, melting the glowing metal of the MVS immediately with a brief surge of radiation energy.

"And how is Britannia any better than terrorists?" Karen shouted. She brought her claw in front of her chest and emitted another defensive field of radiation energy when a hail of bullets again descended upon her, and then swiftly moved to the side as Nonette capitalized and struck at her again. "Conquering, oppressing, destroying... Britannia faces terrorism because your actions satisfy only yourselves!"

"Britannia has changed!" Dorothea interjected disapprovingly. "Words like that don't justify terrorism."

Karen laughed derisively, forcing Nonette aside as rage got the better of her. She tackled into Dorothea's Vincent, stabbing her fork knife deep into the factsphere sensor on her left shoulder. "Britannia has changed? You think that solves anything? Did you do anything when Japan became Area 11, when the Japanese were turned into Elevens? What about when you conquered Area 18? Did the tragedies of those beneath you mean anything?"

She removed the fork knife with purpose, putting some distance between them. She quickly moved when Nonette came at her from behind, and while Nonette had her back turn Karen fired a wave of radiation energy from her claw hand, destroying the float system backpack attached to the Vincent's back, sending her in a sharp decline toward the ground. Dorothea hastened after her fellow Knight to stop in her sharp fall, but Karen cut her off on the way, another wave of radiation already pulsing from her outstretched claw in a hazy circle. "This isn't terrorism. What we do – what the Order of the Black Knights set out to do – is not as simple as terrorism. It is justice, for what you have so callously done to us. Tell me; do you look down on Elevens? Do you believe the Japanese to be weaker than you? Even now, when your two greatest enemies – superior enemies – are Japanese?"

Dorothea offered no answer as she tossed aside one of her rifles and replaced it with an MVS sword, The two clashed sword on knife, and Karen lowered her claw and allowed the radiation surging from it to fade as they danced around one another. Faintly a loud crashing from below alerted Karen to Nonette's landing, but there was no telling whether she was alive or what shape she was in, both her and her Vincent. It seemed to distract Dorothea briefly, however, and Karen took the moment presented to quickly grasp the Vincent's head between the skeletal fingers of her claw hand. Before she could prematurely end the fight, Dorothea surprised her by breaking free of her grasp and backing off. Karen circled her warilly, looking for either an opening or a sign of what Dorothea was planning to do. Either would have been lovely at that moment, and far better than feeling like a stalked animal.

Finally Dorothea pounced, dropping her other rifle in favor of her second MVS sword. She fought with a style all too familiar from samurai movies and the like, but entirely too foreign in Knightmare Frame combat. She kept herself facing away from Karen, advancing as though taking sidesteps and swinging her swords all the while. One would come down and as it would come down the other would go down, following a rotation that kept her virtually untouchable. She turned flawlessly with every move Karen made, and before long that deathtrap of a swinging motion was almost within striking distance. When Karen tried to counter with her fork knife, Dorothea quickly changed stance so that she was facing forward, swords crossed at her chest to block with ease. The pitiful length of her weapon by comparison to the MVS swords didn't help matters for Karen, either.

The familiar sound of many things exploding high above didn't even bother Karen, but the Gawain's Hadron cannons laying waste to another horde of aircrafts was enough to give Dorothea another brief pause. Karen rushed at Dorothea, clamping down hard on her head with her claw hand. "This is not terrorism. What we are doing is not wrong. Lelouch may be wrong, but his ideals weren't. This world needed to change, and we were the ones to do it. You call us terrorists, people who spread violence and care nothing for who they hurt, right? Is that not what Britannia does?"

"Did!" Dorothea shouted back, with a little warble to her voice that betrayed the cool exterior she had put on in the face of being melted like Monica before her.

Karen growled and leaned forward in her motorbike-style seat, pushing forward the lever in her left hand and releasing a small bit of radiation energy, just enough to make Dorothea cry out in pain and surprise. "Stop being so virtuous! A few weeks with a good man leading you does not erase the sins you have committed! Britannia must answer for what it has done! Or will you disregard the people you have killed, the people who have been reduced to slaves because of your disgusting ideals! And what of my brother, who died fighting the disgusting likes of you?!" When all her outburst got in reply was a self-satisfied – and very pained – chuckle, Karen snapped. She leaned as far forward as her body could comfortably go, pushing the lever every bit she could. The blood red Vincent clutched in her hand began bubbling from the heat and the power of the radiation consuming it, but she stopped just before it could destroy the Frame. And whether it was because she couldn't or was simply too prideful to, Dorothea made no move to eject. Or maybe she had lost consciousness. That was possible too, if not probable considering the amount of heat she had just pumped into the Vincent.

A sharp, palpable tingle ran up Karen's spine for a moment. She glanced around in fervent search of the origin of that feeling – she often felt the same thing when people mentioned the Geass, whether they were using it or not – and immediately spotted the approaching figure of the golden Vincent piloted by Rolo. He dodged her claw hand and cut through the immobilized Vincent she was holding, but his assault appeared to have no effect until that tingle had left Karen's body, when suddenly the Vincent dropped from her grasp and exploded. Rolo came to a halt in front of her, one arm at his side holding an MVS sword while the other pointed his second MVS sword at her.

"What were you doing?" Rolo asked accusingly. His voice was slightly labored from having just used his Geass, as well as from the additional strain of excluding Karen from the active field, but he had managed to get the contact back into his eye before it became a problem.

"Fighting?" Karen replied questioningly, wondering why she felt so unnerved by Rolo's accusatory statement. She didn't need to fear somebody just because they had a Geass, after all; that would be just stupid.

"Lelouch is counting on us to take out the enemy," Rolo said with a scowl – or at least, Karen figured he'd be wearing one at that moment. "Your self-satisfying worries can be dealt with later. We take out the enemy and we move on. We do not take the time to taunt them or to toy with their lives."

The haughty, holier-than-thou attitude with which Rolo spoke made Karen grit her teeth in unsuppressed rage. She knew that if he wanted, Rolo could easily stop time and make short work of her, but she didn't bother to care. Not only was he baselessly insulting her, but he was doing it while defending Lelouch, and that was just perturbing in her eyes. Karen knew that people displeased with Lelouch were few and far between, but did he really have people who still truly believed in him, in spite of how much he had changed?

Instead Karen scoffed, deciding it best that she take the casually dismissive, but otherwise antagonizing angle. "I don't need to listen to you. People who have no reason to fight don't mean anything on a battlefield."

"No reason to fight?" Rolo uttered disbelievingly. And then Karen's entire world faded into nonexistence, only to come back into focus moments later, with her fork knife removed from her hand and the needle blazer on the elbow of the Vincent's right arm was pressing against her chest threateningly. "Is that something you should say, when all I have done is loyally followed Lelouch? The same cannot be said of you, after all."

"You..." Karen growled, flexing and unflexing her fingers in preparation of either an incoming attack or her attacking.

"If you betray Lelouch, I will kill you. I promise," Rolo said with a mocking, boy-like innocence. And then her world stood still again, only to come back into focus with Rolo gone.

o---o

Not ten miles out from Pendragon in the direction of California was the Hogosha, resting on a small strip of paved land that looked as though it may once have been an airport, although there were no buildings accompanying it to support that thought. The plan had been that, on the off chance that their forces were victorious at Sacramento and along the Sacramento river – only Lelouch and Jeremiah knew that there was virtually no hope of that being the case; everybody else believed Lelouch had handed off some devastating plan to Jeremiah to ensure victory despite his pitiful army – they were to continue on their way toward Pendragon and regroup with the forces still with the Hogosha. For Lelouch and Jeremiah, the Hogosha's positioning doubled as a contingency plan; an ambush for the returning Britannian army if the Knight of Three were to win at Sacramento.

The troops on duty aboard the large air battleship were not the 'cream of the crop' – Schneizel would have used such strange wording, Kanon thought with a fond smile – or so could be inferred of the casually talking guards outside his prison cell. They were consumed in a rather droll discussion of whether or not the coming fall lineup was going to be suitable for their children – there were a number of things wrong with such a strange topic, but Kanon kept those thoughts to himself – and also wondering if they would be alive to be moderators of that. Kanon was tempted to say that they were basically the gruntman, the ones with no faces that were picked off without remorse because they weren't important enough to have a face of their own, and that they had roles so pointless that the odds of them dying were slim to none, but he again kept that to himself. There was no sense in lying outright to them, after all.

"Do you really think Sara should be watching that?" one of the guards – the one to the left of his cell, previously dubbed Guard A for the sake of minimal confusion on Kanon's part – asked. "She's only eight! And Ellie would absolutely kill me if she found out..." he scratched the back of his neck nervously, probably thinking of scenarios involving 'Ellie' murdering him in one brutal way or another on account of bad parenting.

"You know kids these days," the other guard, named Guard B for the sake of convenience, stated. "They do whatever they want no matter what you tell them. We weren't that rebellious when we were kids, were we?"

Guard A chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck a second time. "I wouldn't be standing here if I had been. Or do you not remember my old man?"

"Ah, Rick was a great guy..." Guard B laughed, to the obviously apparent chagrin of his friend. "When you were on his good side, anyway. Wicked sense of humor, he had. Scared the crap out of me a number of times, though – he was great at playing serious." He broke into a brief moment of laughter, this time joined by his friend. When they sobered a moment later, he added, "Remember that time I ---"

"--- Convinced him I was in league with Refrain dealers? He almost killed me after that!"

"No," Guard B laughed, "but that was funny too. I was thinking of the time I came over, and he threatened to shoot me for stepping foot on your property. Took a good five minutes before I saw that grin break out across his face – I thought I was a goner for sure!"

"Ah, yeah, those were good days..." his voice trailed off, not into soft laughter as one might expect, but rather into a sort of dubious and somewhat suspecting growl. His eyes bore straight ahead, toward the end of the hallway, and Kanon knew it was time. He smiled widely as the guard took several steps forward, easing his hand away from it's casual hold on the handle of the handgun at his side, gripping his rifle with both hands. "What are you doing here? Shift change isn't for another three hours."

"All Hail Lord Schneizel," the newcomer spoke in monotone, seconds before the sound of a gun firing was heard, followed promptly by Guard A crumpling to the ground, blood beginning to pool beneath his faceplanted body. Guard B stepped forward in some valiant, if foolish, attempt to avenge his friend, but he too fell in a pool of his own blood seconds later. The dim, flickering lights of the hallway beyond Kanon's cell revealed a man dressed in the same Order of the Black Knights regalia the two now-dead guards were wearing, but instead of being rather animated in facial expressions like the two guards, his mouth was set in a straight, blank line.

"Sergeant Wellesley," Kanon said in greeting, reaching through the bars to shake the man's hand. "I imagine it was hard keeping your cover for so long. I am sorry my poor leadership got you captured in Congo, but it seems everything worked out, am I right?"

"Events of late have been unfortunate, but I am glad that my misfortune assisted you in the end, Sir," Wellesley replied stiffly. He moved away from the cell and crouched down by one of the guards, fiddling with his pants until he found a set of keys. He observed them at length before taking one between his thumb and index finger and unlocking the cell. He pulled the door open and bowed respectfully as Kanon strode past before pushing the door closed and dropping the keys on the corpse he had stolen them from. "I trust we have an escape plan?" Wellesley stated, but with just enough emotion for it to be called hopeful.

"No," Kanon said firmly, a smirk coming to his lips. "We have a hijacking plan to carry out. Many of Lelouch's inner circle are disillusioned with him; if we play on that, we have a shot."

Their voices carried through the halls as they continued to walk before eventually reaching the ears of a very nosy and very excited Diethard Ried. He could admit without shame that he was growing bored of this whole fiasco over Lelouch – Zero had been interesting, an enigma that stood out in the world; Lelouch did nothing but follow the world's trend, albeit more successfully – and had been on his way to meet with Kanon, but instinct forced him to duck into the nearest room when the voices of the traitorous soldier and Kanon reached his ears. He smirked as he took in the entirety of their talk, and when they were no longer present he ducked out of the room, already fumbling with his pocket for his cell phone. He would have to tell Lord Lelouch of this matter; if he did, there would be just a bit of excitement left in Lelouch's ventures. Of that he was certain.

* * *

Phew! Part One is done! Odysseus was fun to write in this chapter – as I was writing the war council scene, I had this vision of him as the mayor from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, giving his final opinion on whether or not to run from the falling moon (sorry to anybody interested in the series that has not played that game, for that minuscule and generally insignificant spoiler). That scene sort of molded itself around that idea, with the doomsday feel to it and all. If you've ever played the game in question, you can probably see what I mean.

On another note, I tried my hand at a bit of humor with Gino, if you noticed. With the scene from his perspective, it just wouldn't have felt right otherwise. The way I saw it, even a more serious Gino would have the occasionally witty or humorous remark to make. I made sure it was toned down, but it was still there to lighten the mood.

While we're at it, let's discuss Anya. I took an AU liberty and made her amnesia a diagnosed thing, rather than a product of the Geass (collateral damage to my change in the Geass plot from canon, and because she wasn't Marianne's vessel here). Other than that, I rather think I failed horribly at characterizing her, but I tried to make her a unique character and tried to shy away from the archtype canon molded her from a little bit.

Also, one more thing to apologize for is the quality of the fight scenes in this chapter. While I don't think the fights themselves were too bad (I tried to keep battles between the Guren and Lancelot at the forefront of my mind while writing them), the fact that every noteworthy fight in this battle involved a Vincent, and things were very tedious I imagine. Not to mention that I think I did a rather bad job of conveying how strong the Knights of the Round are, particularly when two of them were killed by Karen with relative ease, but there was just so much fighting that some of it had to be glossed over. And unfortunately, Monica and Dorothea were unfortunate victims of this. I am sorry to say that this will continue into next chapter, with the conclusion of the Suzaku vs. Anya battle as well as the Lelouch/C.C. vs. Luciano battle, but that's it. And next chapter also includes much of the backdrop for the fight's conclusion – you'll see what I mean, as by the end of next chapter things will be completely different.

Finally, I feel the need to point out that this story is nearing it's one year anniversary. While it is not quite there yet, I may not have another chapter out before then (it's entirely possible, but contingency plans are nice anyway), so I'll say it now: Happy one year anniversary! I recognize that I don't have much of my original fans lying around (or at least, the original fans that reviewed – no offense intended, I just seldom make an effort to keep track of Alerts and the like), but all of my fans are appreciated for their support, comments and feedback all the same. It certainly doesn't feel like I've been trucking this thing along for eleven months, and I certainly didn't expect to have made this much headway in a year's time. I expected, in planning, that this would be a far more lengthy project than it turned out to be, honestly. And it has been a rocky path, because I was improving as I went (I encourage the particularly dedicated amongst you to backtrack and see just how vast the difference is from beginning to end; I was certainly surprised, and seeing how utterly terrible some of my chapters have been was rather amusing) and because I'm not perfect and some things just didn't come out as well as they could have, but that's okay. This will be something to look back at once I've gotten even better, because this story was where writing started in earnest for me.


	32. AnnouncementAppologies

This is just a small notice for those that are still looking out for an update on this fic. Contrary to, well, just about everything I've said, I'm not sure if I will be able to finish it in the forseeable future. To be frank, a lot of it seemed good at the time, but looking back on it as I am now - a moderately more experienced writer, I like to think - I realize quite a bit of it was shallow and poorly plotted out.

That having been said, it is not outright abandoned simply because I too believe there is a very slim chance of it being continued at some point in time. I cannot say when that will be or if it will come to pass, but it can't be ruled out in it's entirety. But my interests have developed some since I started this, and while I am still interested in Code Geass fanfiction, I am not interested in this at this point in time.

I am plotting out a new Code Geass fic, to some degree, as well as a colaborative effort with masterkeyes that may or may not actually be put to page (that only applies to the latter; I fully intend to at least take a shot at writing my single effort). I won't put a time frame on that given how much of a whore my mind can be and how hard it can be to get into a writing mood, but we'll see how that goes.

Cheers.


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